Back in Action
29/08/2011 § 5 Comments
NYC Subway, 1952. Taken by Cornell Capa.
Well darlings, I am happy to report that all is well and that I was able to return to my apartment yesterday evening and even enjoyed a celebratory dinner at neighborhood standby The Odeon. All in all, for a first hurricane, I am glad to report that Irene was something of a letdown, but I’m very happy to take over-preparedness and preemptive measures over disasters and tragedy. My building took on a bit of water in her basement, but that was all. This morning I was able to hop on a very uncrowded 4 train to get to work, and Starbucks even spelled my name right. All in all, business as usual. Well, maybe not the part about Starbucks spelling my name right…
Things that were awesome about the Hurricane Irene weekend included:
- Getting invited to a very special hurricane party
- Running into this guy at Duane Reade
- My Mom suggesting we play Words With Friends, so she knew I was alive
- Hilarious hurricane banter with Jodi, Ted and Bryan
- The Muffins Cafe amazingly staying open late on Saturday and opening up early Sunday, with lines out the door both days
- My building staff toughing it out through the evacuation, with some of them staying from Friday night to Sunday afternoon
- Convincing the hurricane party (no, not the one I mentioned above, thank you, a different one.) I attended on Saturday night to watch Auntie Mame in its fabulous entirety
Great moments, all, but the absolute best part of the weekend
was hearing from everyone concerned for my well-being.
I remain very touched. You guys are awesome.
All best,
M.
…and now we return to our regularly scheduled discussion of all the random things I tend to discuss.
Come On Irene…
26/08/2011 § 3 Comments
Hurricane Donna, New England, 1960.
You’ve probably heard that New York is expecting Hurricane Irene to touch down sometime this weekend and generally wreak havoc. My gorgeous landmarked building, standing since 1908 and a 9/11 survivor, sits in a low-lying area of lower Manhattan and I have been ordered to evacuate. In an unprecedented move, all public transit will be shut down Saturday at noon and is not expected to come back online until sometime Monday…AND THEY HAVE CLOSED SAKS FIFTH AVENUE!
As this is my first ever hurricane, I’m not quite sure what to expect, but I am decamping from my downtown perch for points further north to batten down the hatches and ride this bad bitch out. I do believe that’s the first time I’ve ever cussed on here. Irene, stop playing with my emotions! You’ve got me all worked up!
Please do your best to stay safe this weekend.
I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, I assure you.
All bests,
M.
Some helpful links (I’ve been obsessively checking):
NYC Office of Emergency Management Evacuation Zone Finder
National Weather Service
Downtown Alliance – Lower Manhattan
Red Cross Go Bag Checklist
In any event, this is your theme song for the weekend:
I know, I KNOW, it’s Eileen…
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