A Sandy Adventure

Last year, my mom was with me when Hurricane Irene hit.  When my ceiling started leaking, I was terrified that my roof would collapse.  It was nice to have my mom here to talk me down.

This year, when experts started predicting that Hurricane Sandy would be worse than Irene, I took them seriously.  I ordered lots of food through Fresh Direct, put some batteries in my old-time Mickey Mouse radio, and waited.  I didn't get any candles, though.  The candles in the photo are battery-operated.  Still afraid of fire...

Luckily, my adventure with Sandy was mild.  I was again terrified that the winds would break my windows - in fact, one of my new windows, replaced after last year's fire, did turn out to be loose, so I had to get up after each particularly intense gust of wind to put the window back in place.  It certainly wasn't fun, and I was afraid the window would blow out, but fortunately, I never lost power, internet or cable.  I stayed completely in touch throughout the whole experience, except for e-mails since my office server crashed.  I missed having my mom with me, though... 

Watching the storm updates was unsettling, so I turned to Jane Austen DVDs to relax a bit.  Facebook was a godsend - people were updating what was happening and I felt like I was connected to all my loved ones, even if they were far away.  

I finally fell asleep when the winds died down Monday night/early Tuesday morning.  Our office was closed again, but the office servers came back up, so I got a little work done, then went out to see what my neighborhood looked like.  It was pretty much business as usual in Astoria - most businesses were open and there didn't seem to be a lot of damage, at least where I was.  I did see some uprooted plants and one downed line, but that is minor.  So, clearly, I am more than thankful that Sandy didn't slam us as horribly as it could have. 

Wednesday, a co-worker and I decided to get into the office.  I would've worked at home for another day, but I had a big event for work upcoming and lots of decisions would have to be made whether or not to postpone.  I needed information that couldn't be accessed at home, so co-worker and I braved the commute.  I called the car service at 8:50am.  They told me it would be ten minutes.  At 9:30, I called back since the car hadn't arrived.  They said it would be five more minutes.  The car arrived at 9:40.  When we told him we wanted to go to midtown, he was less than pleased.  He said it would take at least two hours.  I think he was hoping to dissuade us, but we had to get in.  One boss was already there! 

Traffic WAS awful - it took us at least 45 minutes just to get to the Queensboro Bridge (which normally takes about ten minutes from my house).  We were talking to our bosses on our cell phones and the driver was laughing at us, even though he still was ticked we were making him drive into town.  It took another 45 minutes to get close enough to the office where we could get out and walk the rest of the way.  To our driver's credit, he did not jack up the price, so we gave him twice the fare and wished him a good day.

Unbelievably, we had people calling our office, wondering why we hadn't been answering the phone for the past few days.  I can't imagine they didn't know our offices are in NYC.  Hmmm.  After many calls and lots of angsting, we did cancel the upcoming event, so lots of e-mails had to go out.  It turned out to be a pretty busy day, surprisingly.

My co-worker and I missed out on getting a ride back to Astoria from our boss (my fault, sorry), so we decided to walk up to 57th Street to catch the crosstown bus, and then take the Q101, which goes over the Queensboro Bridge and travels across Steinway Street, which is close to both my and my co-worker's place.  Of course, we forgot the whole 'dangling crane on 57th Street' thing, so we couldn't take the crosstown bus until east of Fifth Avenue.  By the time we got there, we thought we'd just walk the rest of the way.  I haven't walked that far in awhile, but I was fine during the walking.  When we got to Second Avenue, to catch the bus at 60th Street, I thought I saw the line for the bus was stretching a couple of blocks, but it was really only one block.  Since the bus originates at this point, a lot of people could get on at one time, so we didn't wait very long at all, thankfully.  And, we got close enough to the front of the line to get seats!  Bonus!  We got over the bridge pretty quickly, but got stuck in traffic on the other side.  It wasn't as bad as it could've been though.  Plus, it was heartwarming to get off the bus on Steinway Street and see all the little kids trick-or-treating at businesses.  I was pretty wiped out by the time I got home, though.  At least we had been at work marginally longer than we had been commuting!  :)

Thursday and Friday's commutes were much easier.  The R train, which I usually take, still wasn't running, but the N train was.  I walked the thirteen blocks to catch the N train, prepared to see a zillion people on the platform, but it was surprisingly quiet.  I even got a seat!  Which doesn't always happen on a non-post-hurricane-commute, so hooray.  I wasn't exactly thrilled to see an MTA employee perhaps caulking the tracks opposite me, but ok.  Though Friday's commute home was unfun: our office cleaning lady had told me that the F train was running local and I could take it instead of the R train.  OK, that sounded good to me.  So after stopping at KMart to pick up some stuff to donate to the rescue efforts, I decided to try the F train.  What an unfun experience.  Like any normal commuter going to Queens, I walked over to the Queens side of the station, like the other hundred people who were standing there.  There were MTA employees, walking around, but not making any announcements.  Finally, I noticed an F train on the downtown track and walked over to an MTA employee. One hurried past me and exclaimed "We should've kept the trains closed!  I can't believe these people don't know where to go!"  I asked another guy, "Do we need to be over there to catch a train to Queens?"  He just pointed over there, without looking at me and without saying anything.  I smiled and said, "You know, we wouldn't have to bother you if you put someone upstairs and told us not to come down here."  Sigh.  So, about a dozen people joined me, running up the stairs, to try to catch the train on the other side.  We caught it, all right.  It was packed.  PACKED.  I probably should've gotten off and waited for the next train, but I was so tired by this time, I couldn't think.  I started sweating profusely - it was just pouring off me.  I guess I looked pathetic and pitiful, because a very nice young woman gave me her seat.  I guiltily admit I took it.  Thankfully, there are still some kind people in the world.  I was again exhausted by the time I staggered back into my apartment.

Yesterday, I went to the Powhatan Democratic  Club near my apartment to drop off some donations for families in the Rockaways.  It was great to see so many people there, contributing so many diverse items.  The room was so full, I stayed for about an hour to help sort the donations.  It made me feel a little better, helping the tiniest bit since I have been so fortunate.

Last night, my handsome dear one invited me to a concert of the Phoenix Quartet, celebrating their tenth anniversary.  I was happy to go, to hear some music and spend time with a handsome gent.  The concert was quite nice, but I'll admit to preferring their quieter pieces, utilizing their wonderful harmonies, rather than the solo and duet pieces.  But it was grand to hear quality lyrics put forth so clearly, and to see people who obviously love the songs they perform.  So, thumbs up.  Thumbs down for the F train ride on the way home (clearly, I didn't learn my lesson and deserved the sweaty pain I got), but I'm choosing to accentuate the positive.  Keeping positive energy is especially important now.  And to anyone reading this who wants to help, the Red Cross is always looking for donations...

Enjoy some other photos from my week with (and without) Sandy.