We lost power here Monday night of Hurricane precisely at 8:30 p.m. I know because
I had just started to eat a banana and had just glanced at the time...
Power company had called me earlier (robot call) and told me to shut off all major
appliances, except refrigerator (do not unplug!)-- I even unplugged my computer from
power surge strip after shutting if off, just as I had unplugged the TV.
Was able to get more batteries for my flashlight, luckily (later)..
and still had gas and running water after power failed. However, I already also had a
bathtub full of water so I used that to flush following the Los Angeles motto ( "If
it's yellow, it's mellow, if it's brown, flush it down).
Pain came when it got cold and of course no heat because boiler relies on electric
turn on. Slept with my clothes and down jacket on under some blankets and just
felt cold in my feet because I was nervous...
Power was promised by Bloomberg to be on Friday night by Midnight. Went
downstairsthen to talk to woman working here and also other people who had
come down. She had a battery powered radio. We heard how power was coming on,
section by section, starting with the lowest tip of Manhattan. By Midnight
still no power and it was obvious we would be last little piece in jigsaw puzzle.
I was lighting my gas stove with a cigarette lighter I had bought at little deli without
power ( was later able to get kitchen matches--glad for these because I kept burning
my fingers lighting gas using lighter!)
Woman working here on Friday night summed it up neatly, "Dammit, I am getting
TIRED of it being so dark all the time."
Power and heat came on some time early Saturday morning. I woke up about 6 p.m.
and saw clock radio time flashing as well as flashing answering machine ( answering
machine HELL to reset I don't know why they make it so damn complicated).
But SO SO lucky compared to scores of thousands of people in NY-NJ-CT area, so
manyof whom lost their homes or stayed despite being told to leave and then
still stayed aslong as they could to flooded houses...
Many scores of thousands around here still without power as I write this. They have
been pumping out subway tunnels since right after storm flooded them but not
all lines were back for some time..and of course people still tried to get to work
anyway they could ( some of the auto tunnels were flooded , too, including
the Midtown one just north of me, which was supposedly built never to flood!
Some planning goof there, huh? Actually, I believe Climate change is just setting
us up for more and more unprecedented storms like this).
Oh yeah, had canned food and peanut butter and bottled water ( boiled water for
endless cups of instant coffee) and then found out on my travels that power
NEVER WENT OFF just five blocks North of here..so supermarkets open
there and restocking withnew food immediately except for bottled water.
Attaching just a dozen of Post-Hurricane photos ( self explanatory, I think, like the
one of people from no-power zone trying to get to work in power-on zone and
stoppingfor coffee anywhere they could) etc.
We got off so lightly here, really, I can't complain ( but of course I do).
Our elevator went out and then went whacky when power came back on. Will
probably require someone from Power company to fix it ( electrician who was
supposed to comeyesterday never made it today either I noticed).
Yeah, I am happy with election just because of all the time I put in as Obama
volunteer ( including afternoon shift at phone bank on election day. Obama was
rightwhen he said he won because of small donations ( I made a lot of them,
includingthese women Senate candidates who were running against Rape-nut
case remark Tea Party fools
...the Dem women all won! Only gave $20 to Obama himself but figured that was
in line with what they were asking for ,,,millions of small donations.
All these people from NYC (and State) also took all these buses to Ohio and
Pennsylvania for weeks before election and also were there on election day
to get out the vote...every last one we could identify.
Happy but numb about all politics even though Obama website keeps sending
me messages and telling me to stay ready for more action.
What could they have in mind?
I am so tired of politics I do not even care about the "fiscal cliff"-- screw
Boehner and intransigent Republicans, country will survive. There WAS
a mandate for richer people paying their fare share.
HA HA to Koch Bros. and other plutocrats who spent hundreds of millions of
dollars and believed all of Karl Rove's usual nonsense. They are mad as hell
at Rove, who will just blame someone/something else for his own stupidity.
My best wishes to all who are still suffering, --hope things improve for you soon!
