Texas Winter Storm IRL!

I happened to be in Houston during winter storm Uri which caught Texans by surprise when snow and icy conditions took over most major cities; something that hasn’t happened in over 30 years. My partner and I were supposed to fly out Sunday afternoon but shortly after arriving at the airport, our flight was canceled. No big deal I thought as I skimmed over my calendar and knew I didn’t have any obligations on Monday, so we rented a hotel room by the airport and planned to take the same flight out the next day. We had pizza delivered to the hotel and indulged in cable TV (something I don’t have at home). In between sleeping and waking up in the morning, the entire city of Houston suffered a power outage. This caused the airport to be closed along with restaurants, gas stations, and anything else that required power for business. Continuing our travel was out of the question for Monday and we had no other option but to stay another night at the hotel. With frigid temperatures and no access to electricity, panic started to ensue among the city limits of Houston and beyond. After 36 hours of no power, heat, access to charge our phones, and food being impossible to get we decided we needed to find an alternative to getting out of the state. We rented a car and as wild as it sounds, we were determined to drive from Houston to Los Angeles. It was a 23-hour road trip, but at least we were comforted in knowing that in a day and a half we would be home. We got 3 hours of driving in and ended up in San Antonio when the storm continued to worsen making it impossible to drive. We parked at a gas station and figured we would wait a few hours for the conditions to get better. Unfortunately, when we started to drive again, they were worse. Flipped over big rig trucks and abandoned vehicles were an indicator the roads were not drivable. All hotels were filled with residents seeking electricity so finding a place to stay was not an option. We found a hotel parking lot which we intended on sleeping in our car until we could get back on the road. To our surprise, 1 room opened just minutes prior to our arrival so we slept and prepared ourselves for the long drive ahead. The next day roads were clear and we were able to get 15 hours of driving in, few hours of sleep in Phoenix, AZ, and eventually made it home Thursday afternoon.

Every time I started to feel overwhelmed and beaten down, I took control of my thoughts and didn’t allow any negativity to creep in. I would say 3 things I was thankful for: I’m out of the elements and sheltered, I have a bed to lay in, and I am in a fortunate situation where I can put things on a credit card and deal with it later; something not everyone is privileged enough to be able to do.

I have now adopted this practice and have been doing it daily. This nightmare situation helped me learn to control my thoughts and literally weather the storm. The impact our actions as a species have had on our environment was more apparent than ever and being in a state without the necessary tools and preparation to handle such unexpected weather was gruesome. More than four million Texans were without electricity and heat in freezing temperatures in addition to the loss of access to water. President Biden declared the situation as a major disaster on February 20th. I’m a Californian so earthquakes and wildfires are the kind of natural disasters I am used to, so you can imagine this was one of the most taxing experiences I’ve undergone and it was even harder as a traveler as opposed to living there. In anything I experience in life, arduous or joyful, I always look for the learning opportunity. Next time you find yourself in less-than-ideal circumstances, pause and think of 3 things you have to be grateful for in that exact moment and I guarantee it will make all the difference. I now can say I experienced firsthand the 2021 Texas power crisis which has officially become a search on Wikipedia!