How I spent my hurricane-induced vacation…
My deepest sympathies to people are struggling because of Hurricane Sandy. I was very lucky:
* My power flickered but stayed on.
* My internet was only out for a day.
* My building is fine, although several buildings nearby had parts of their siding ripped off.
* My train (the L) still isn’t running, and my office was closed due to power outage all week, so I haven’t left my house for a week except to go to the local grocery store (which was missing a lot of stuff due to no deliveries, and is ridiculously expensive-like 30% costlier than Whole Foods-but it’s better than nothing).
* I worked from home all week.
* It’s amazing how much time and money you save when you don’t have to do your hair or makeup every day, or wear fancy clothes, or spend an hour on a train.
* My cats are very, very happy to have had mommy to themselves for a week.
* I’ve been eating well, losing weight, and saving money by cooking all my own food with no temptation to order from restaurants.
* I’ve been sleeping at least eight hours per night and exercising at least a half hour each day.
* I’ve kept my apartment ridiculously clean.
* I’ve been knocking off items that have been lingering on my to-do list for years, including digitizing old VHS tapes, listing stuff on ebay, and reading through old magazines so I can recycle them.
This luck will most likely run out tomorrow, as my office is finally open but the L isn’t running, so I’m going to try walking (25 minute walk) to the M train, which will undoubtedly be ridiculously crowded with everyone else who also would have been on the L train. I’m sure the miserable commute will also screw up all the healthy-lifestyle stuff I managed this week, but it was fun while it lasted.
Of course I’m still ridiculously lucky. My aunt and uncle in Scarsdale still don’t have power or hot water. My boss in midtown Manhattan had no power or any water at all for a week. My friend in Jersey City spent a week with no power, no internet, no cell service, and a 7pm daily curfew. Let alone all those people whose homes were destroyed, or who lost loved ones.
I don’t know how to explain how ridiculous this whole situation feels. New York City does not have tropical hurricanes. As if terrorism, crime, and massive inequality aren’t enough, now we have to worry about this, too? Hoping we’ll at least have some silver lining of politicians taking climate change more seriously, but I’m not holding my breath.
Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please comment there or at Dreamwidth.