Gas

Strange days in Atlanta. Almost like jumping in a time machine and experiencing what it was live during the gas shortage of the mid 70s. There is no gas in Atlanta right now.

Not only downtown, but the surrounding metro area as well. Hurricane Ike cut off our supply. Because of the air pollution in Atlanta, we have to have a special mix of gas. Once those refineries lost power, we lost our supply.

The Governor of Georgia got the special gas put on hold so we can have any gas we can get. The problem is he took too long to do it and everyone is panic buying. If there is a station with gas, you better be ready to wait for it.

On Friday I was lucky enough to fill up both cars. We had been down to a 1/4 tank in each one. I filled Erin's car and only had to wait 10 minutes. Later in the day I had to wait 30 minutes to fill my car. I can't imagine waiting in line that long and then not getting gas. I got lucky.

On the news there are stories of fights breaking out, people getting shot, and police officers having to be called in to manage the lines.

We are told that the "crisis" could be over by this week or by next week. Who knows? Most stations have only one grade of gas for a few hours and then the numbers come back down off the sign again.

Speech Evaluation

Erin took Shannon to her Speech Evaluation on Wednesday. Here is how she summarized the session:

It went surprisingly well, in that Shannon participated more than I thought she would. The speech therapist ran a few tests and Shannon is showing some articulation (pronunciation) problems which makes it hard to understand what she's saying. She also has a weak tongue, so we have some exercises we have to do with her. She will need some speech therapy, but her delays are mild and should improve fairly quickly. We won't get the final report with scores and everything for about 2-3 weeks.

Now the problem is finding a speech therapy slot for her. We need to have an after school spot since Mike and I are both working. Every place around here has at least a 2-3 month waiting list. So, I'm trying to see if Shannon will qualify for services through the school system. The school will provide transportation to and from daycare (I'm still checking on that), and, best of all, it's FREE. Oh, did I mention that our insurance doesn't cover speech therapy for articulation disorder? Just another obstacle. So, I'm really hoping she'll qualify for school-based.