My 5-Day Hurrication!

So.. about the hurricane. Via some facebook buzz, I'm feeling a lot of pressure to really deliver on this blog post! Like, a lot of pressure. I must warn you, then, that although a lot of people were really affected by the dangerous storm, I wasn't really. Homes were destroyed and people were killed and let there be no mistake, Hurricane Sandy left a lot of heartbreak and devastation in her path. There's a telethon on NBC right now that you should watch if you want to see tragic footage of the damages that Sandy caused. But.. if you want to read about my 5-day gluttonous and anti-climatic hurrication, then read on!

When I learned of the severity of the approaching storm, it was Sunday, the day after my roommates and I threw a Halloween party. I was generally unconcerned about the whole thing. Last year around this time, we had hurricane Irene and all it really did to NYC was rain a lot and postpone a music festival that I had tickets to. Irene was like the storm that cried hurricane, and as a result, I wasn't too concerned about Sandy. Also, I was a tad bit dehydrated from the night before (too much candy corn!). Luckily, my roommates picked up a gallon of water for me, and I filled my bathtub with water, just in case we lost power.

Hurricane, schmurricane. Get me a Gatorade.

That's when the fun started. Sunday night we learned that the subway was being shut down, which meant my training for *my new job would be postponed, which meant that I could sleep in on Monday and watch Hoda and Kathie Lee until my heart was content. Score!

[*Did I tell you I finally got a job!! It's a bit of a let down finally getting a job, but then three days later not being able to go to work because of a natural disaster. More on that later.]

Monday

Anyway.. the storm hits. I definitely do sleep in, but when I go to turn on my two favorite morning talk show gals, I quickly learn that Hurricane Sandy is taking over the airwaves. There is coverage on every channel, so I do what every educated, independent New York City woman would do. I order a pizza and go over to friends/neighbors KS and AP's apartment. I feel really bad for the pizza guys who have to work through a hurricane so instead of having it delivered, I walk the three blocks to pick it up myself.

I feet like this guy:

I know, dude. I know.

Then I spend the rest of the day on KS and AP's couch flipping back and forth between news coverage and episodes of Friday Night Lights. My mom's first grade class calls in the afternoon to ask me hurricane-related questions, which is, as you can imagine, hilarious. When I tell the kids that the grocery store is out of bread and eggs and peanut butter, they go wild. NO PEANUT BUTTER?! When I tell them that school is out and we are eating pizza and watching TV, there is an audible uproar. The kids all yell, "LUCKY!" I feel the exact same way.

Taking a brief break from FNL.

Before going home, KS and I decide to venture outside to pick up a few more things at the grocery store. Lines had been so bad the day before that they were handing out freshly baked cookies to customers in line. Unfortunately, there are no cookies this time, but we do get some grocery staples. You know, like licorice and quinoa. I take video footage of our quick trip (2 blocks, don't worry), but I'm taking that video with me to the grave because the "hurricane look" is anything but flattering. It is a fun excursion though.

This is all you're getting.

Also, I should mention that while all of this is happening, people are texting me, calling me, and writing on my facebook wall wishing me luck with the storm. I am getting birthday-level attention and love, and even though I didn't really have much to report, I have to say, I felt loved and it felt good. Thanks, Sandy.


I decide to go back to my apartment in case the electricity does go out, so I don't have to walk over in the dark. I come home to my cozy apartment with my roommates putting together the most difficult puzzle ever created. I work on it with them for 20 minutes and put two pieces together. I give up because that's really hard.

Tubs (the cat) is better at puzzles than I am.

Then.. some boring stuff happens... I lay in my bed and facebook and edit photos and talk to my mom and sister every 20 minutes. The internet and cable goes out at some point, so I'm forced to open a book like the good 'ol days. At night, I snuggle into bed listening to the wind howl outside my window, and I find it oddly comforting as I remember hot summer storms at our lake cabin in South Dakota. For some reason, I feel very safe.

Tuesday

I wake up to a text from KS that my roommates and I are invited to her apt for hurricane waffles! (I just named them that right now). We bundle up in boots and rainboots and go to KS and AP's apartment for a neighborly brunch over local news coverage of the storm. It turns out that it's not just South Dakota local news that is unintentionally comical. Apparently ALL local news coverage has enough awkwardness and unnecessary dramatics to make viewers squirm. Still, we are both surprised and saddened to see all of the damage that the storm has caused.

We also texted a lot, as you can see.

After filling ourselves up with breakfast carbs and news coverage, my roomie LC and I decide to walk around the neighborhood to assess the damage in our neck of the woods. We see a lot of trees and branches down, but for the most part, they have landed in the opposite direction of homes and cars. I find this very thoughtful of them.

I'm just trying to help out, you know?

Later on I try to meet up with my friend SS at the coffee shop on the corner, but it's like a hipster refugee camp, and there is no where to sit. Instead, SS comes over and we sit in my bed with laptops on our laps. We talk about how the storm has been rather anti-climactic for us, yet we slowly begin to realize that with the subways flooded, we might be stuck in Brooklyn for longer than we had anticipated. SS leaves to grocery shop, and we say goodbye knowing we'll be seeing each other soon since we have no where else to go and nothing else to do. (Also, because we're friends and like hanging out).

For dinner, my roommates LC and JT invite over their friend-group and I invite KS and AP over for an impromptu "We survived Sandy" dinner party. Although initially, the idea of hosting another get-together seems exhausting, we end up having an awesome night with tons of food and wine and one very mean game of charades. A spirited Mariah Carey sing-a-long caps off the night.

Wednesday

Are you getting bored of reading this yet? I'll keep this one short. Stand in line at the Post Office for 45 minutes. Walk around Brooklyn for four hours in the afternoon with KS and AP along with the rest of the restless Brooklyn. Sit at a park bench with KS and SS and watched cute kids in Halloween costumes stumble along the sidewalk. Go home. Meet up with the gang at Union Hall because it's Halloween ya'll!

I wasn't really planning on doing anything big for Halloween night since we had already had a party, and we all thought that we would have to work early the next day. But with zero subway service into the city, our social calenders (for the night) became wide open!

Dino-Rob, Zack Morris, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

Thursday

I watch documentaries and google recipes in bed. I realize that I'm ready for my hurrication to be over. I love Brooklyn, but I realize there is a difference between being able to leave and choosing to stay and being completely helpless and stuck in the borough. I do something that I never ever thought was possible. I begin to miss the subway. I make this graphic to express my frustration. I eat the last of my Halloween candy.

Friday

Friday I decide that enough is enough! I have a job now, goll darnit, and I'm going to go to it! I hear of a shuttle buses that the MTA has set up at the Barclay's Center taking people into Manhattan, and I decide to give it a go, despite horror stories of 2 hour long waits in line. 

This is my commute:

1. Walk a mile west to the bus stop
2. Weave in and out and around the entire convention center in line waiting for a bus
3. Get on the bus and see the last seat taken as the stinky guys comes and stands next to me (with also raising BOTH arms to hang on the the bars overhead)
4. Cling for dear life crossing the bridge
5. Get off the bus at 42nd street
6. Walk 2 blocks to Grand Central Station
7. Take the 4 Train three stops to 68th Street
8. Walk a half a mile east to the hospital

1 hour and 40 minutes

Then I follow my mentor all day and type up a medical journal submission. At the end of the day, I leave to go back to Brooklyn. And that, my friends, is going to require its own blog post. Stay tuned.

So there you have it... Hurricane Sandy's affect on my trivial life. It wasn't really dangerous or life-altering (for me). Mostly it was relaxing and fun and just a tad bit boring. And now it's just plain inconvenient.