Hurricane Sandy

Pin It now! It's been over a week since Sandy came through the area and although things are starting to get back to normal, there's a whole lot of devastation.  There's really no other way of describing all the destruction, ruin, tears, lives lost and lives displaced.  My office (of my new job!) is now downtown (and I'll leave how dearly I miss Midtown for another time) and because of the flooding and blackout, I was out of work for over a week.  Most of my time was spent watching the endless TV coverage of the storm.  It was like a car accident - I wanted to turn it off, but couldn't stop watching.  I felt like I had to tweet and FB all the updates I saw to others who didn't have power (or a house anymore) and send through messages of how massive the lost and destruction was.  Our building luckily was spared and didn't lose power, but it was still scary and surreal Monday night when the East River surged and sent water all the way to Kent Ave.  The next morning there was an actual rainbow over Manhattan.  I don't really get Mother Nature's sense of humor.

I'm particularly sad about how the Jersey shore is no more.  It's sad to see the places where you spent your youth completely gone.  I know that they'll rebuild, but when you see the entire Seaside boardwalk gone, it's hard for me not to reminiscence about spending the weekend after junior prom there or all the times Jenn and I went out there in high school during our Friday nights.

 (A neighbor's photos of the Rockaways and Staten Island)

There was a little levity in all of this though.  SNL had a hilarious sketch showing Mr. Robotic Bloomberg and his now-famous signer, along with Christie and a Jersey equivalent.  Yeah, sometimes you gotta laugh a little bit.

Oh, and there was an election.  All I can say is Yes!

The Weekend - Hurricane Irene Edition

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Friday night: We watched the news as everyone along the East Coast was preparing for Irene. It was really calm in Brooklyn and a gorgeous night. We were going to stay in, but last minute we headed out for dinner at the Thai restaurant down the street. Their food is always delicious and drinks we got (me, lychee bellini & hubs, cucumber citrus something) were amazing. We walked around the park and the pier for one last look before the storm. It really was beautiful - like they say, the calm before the storm.

Saturday, waiting as the storm rolls in...filling bathtubs just in case.

Saturday night...eating and drinking everything we can.  (A neighbor made vodka and Crystal Lite - aren't those blue glasses adorable!). There were a few neighbors who also stayed in the building and ignored the mandatory evacuation. We all got together and had a hurricane party, which began at our place. Cheese plate, bottles of Kraken spiced rum, Blue Label, White Hennessey, and lots of wine. The guys had to watch UFC so we apartment hopped a few more times. The rain came down pretty hard but we still were able to sneak outside for a little bit to see what the storm was all about.

Then Sunday...(Michael went out with the camera and took a few photos of the neighborhood.)  Luckily not too much damage, no flooding and no power outages where we were.

Hurricane Irene - Watch with Us!

Pin It now! Although we're in mandatory evacuation Zone A, we're staying put (along with a lot of other neighbors).  We've got water, food, and a go-bag.  We've filled our bathtub with water. We have flashlights and batteries.  We're set!  Don't get me wrong though, I think this storm is going to be bad and we're not taking it lightly.  Be safe everyone!

A neighbor set up a webcam to stream the hurricane live.  In case you want to watch along...

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