Rock Ya Like a Hurricane

The hurricane has come and gone, but New York is still feeling it. I have been lucky enough to escape Sandy's wrath with only minor inconveniences. I attribute this blessing to the amazing people in my life who have taken care of me for the past week.

On Saturday night (before the storm), some friends and I prepared to head out to a Halloween party. Always striving to be a topical smart-ass, I dressed as "Hurricane Sandy", taking care to make myself as messy and annoying as possible for the joke. Ha ha.

"Sandy" with her friend "Crying Kim Kardashian"

Little did we know that the storm would be much more than the warning everyone scoffed at.

On Sunday, I headed off to work in the UWS. I had some Halloween brownies all ready for the kids and was looking forward to a long day with the family. In the morning, we all trouped to a Halloween party at a kids' gym and enjoyed play time and music. I especially enjoyed little costumed babies running around everywhere!

It was only after the party, when we headed home for nap time, that I began to realize the gravity of the hurricane situation. My phone had a billion text messages from friends, roommates, and family reacting to the news that I was only just getting clued into: the trains were being shut off at 7PM, classes were canceled Monday, and my apartment was in Zone A-- which meant mandatory evacuation.

I'll be honest when I say I was a little freaked out. I have a tendency to get carried away with end-of-the-world fantasies, and all this panic at once was starting to do me in. Upon hearing the news themselves, my bosses, Mr. and Mrs. C, insisted that they drive me home to my apartment AND to Nazlı's place in Washington Heights, where I would be staying. Talk about kindness. I could have hopped on the train, gone home, grabbed some things, and trekked up to the Heights myself before 7PM (when the trains would be out), but the family made it a priority to make sure I was safe and settled as quickly as possible. I can't express how thankful I am for this gesture. How lucky am I to work for some truly wonderful people?

I made it to Nazlı's place around 4PM and we settled in for the storm with an impromptu costume party, some wine, and a cauliflower crust veggie pizza we (Nazlı) made from scratch. Was this evacuation or the best slumber party ever?

"Big turn out"-our friend Laura via facebook

We followed the news the best we could and, over the next few days, braced ourselves for the worst. Washington Heights lies pretty high above the Hudson River, so we had no worries of flooding, and our apartment was largely shielded from the strong storm winds. We have even been so lucky as to have had electricity, heat, and hot water throughout the storm.

Here, however, are some images from where I live in Zone A:

Water rushing through my apartment complex

Transformer blowing at the plant at the end of my street. I see this place from my bedroom windows every day... too scary.

When transit was semi-restored on Thursday, I made the trip downtown as far as I could, then walked 40 minutes to my apartment to assess the damage. I convinced myself I was in an episode of The Walking Dead while I was climbing 7 flights of stairs in absolute pitch-darkness. Where's that damn Carl kid when I need him? (If you don't get that, do yourself a favor and start watching this series on AMC)

Luckily- no damage to report other than the loss of nearly all the food in our fridge. I was worried the transformer explosion blew out our windows-- is that even a thing? I don't know, but bottom line: they were OK.

By Friday evening, the news was spreading that power had been restored! While I had truly been enjoying my rare friendship time with Nazlı, I was anxious to get back into my routine and get out of her (and her roommate's) hair. It is definitely hard to be out of your own space for longer than you expect. I mean, I had assumed I'd be spending one night-- not an entire week! Knowing that I had 2 midterms on Monday plus a lot of other things to get in gear for (news of that to come in the future...) had me at a solid 8.5 on the Anxiety & Irritability Scale. All was not lost, however, because of two things:

1. Nazlı, while equally as irritated and stressed, puts up with my crap anyway.
2. Jake Gyllenhaal exists.

Okay, I'll admit we only initially wanted to see If There is I Haven't Found it Yet... because he was starring in it. Neither of us looked up what the play was about or kept up with critical reviews and we got $20 cheap seats in the last row. Effort points: 0.

HOWEVER: Once Friday night came, we realized that there was so much more to this show. Our seats were awesome, the performance was superb on every level (technical, direction, acting), and we even forgot that we were watching a celebrity on stage. We were impressed and our spirits were lifted! Huzzah!

Saturday came and I trekked home once more to see if we did indeed have power. Check! Thanks to the tireless efforts of ConEd, mta, and others, life is starting to feel more normal here in the city.

Sunday night after work, a full week after my evacuation, I finally moved back into my apartment. While there is certainly a lot left to be desired with this situation (our heat/hot water don't seem to be working, trains are spotty), it's good to be home.

Looking back on this week, I am once again reminded of all that I have to be thankful for. The greatest of thanks go out to all those who sheltered and looked after me, to those who checked in on and worried about me, and especially to those who are fighting to get New York back on track.