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| Easily the best representation of Hurricane Sandy |
I absolutely despise how it's been so long since this topic had to be talked about. I've had some major things to do at work and for now it seems like a good time to lay it all out, shoot the breeze. A strong breeze. Like 120 mph breeze. BOOM! Hurricane Sandy. Sweet transition, I deserve a prize. But for now all I get is more time to type, so let's get going.
My experience with Sandy was a little worse than everyone else around here, but certainly not the worst. I believe there are still people who are suffering the effects, and to them I wish them god speed and also a speedier recovery. So the Sunday before Sandy, I didn't even know there was a Hurricane coming. If it was anything like Irene (that two-timing bitch), I had already put little to no concern on the aftermath. I know that Irene beat up a lot of people, but for me I wasn't affected so much so I guess Sandy took the time to adjust karma levels. I was actually working the very last shift I would ever have at CVS. Your basic 9-5, and I stayed an extra hour because of all the hurricane hustle and bustle, and also the new Pharmacist was still getting used to the flow of the store. 6 o'clock came running along and you could see the skies getting dark and the wind picking up. I had realized there was in fact a hurricane coming. Still scoffed at how weak it was though (this might have been my demise). Driving down the parkway, it was darker than usual at the time of day so I picked up speed, got home, and snuggled up nicely in my bed. Since Irene gave a double dose of paranoia to the east coast, classes and work had already been cancelled. I slept soundly that night knowing I could sleep in, and only woke up a couple times to the sound of strong (but not that strong) wind.
Monday morning came and power still here. I took a look outside my bedroom window and everything seemed to be ok. Lots of leaves on the ground, the weak lawn ornaments were knocked down. Still had power. It was great. By then I was also under the impression that Sandy would roll on through Sunday and Monday. Didn't know it would kind of peak into Tuesday as well. With that in mind I made some preparations to potentially be off another day and just RELAXED my butt off. I was in the middle of playing Kirby with my sister when it happened. The flicker, the dimming lights. BOOM. It had begun. My life in darkness.
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| Pictured: DARKNESS |
It was about 1 PM when the lights went. I still had the rest of the natural sunlight before nightfall. The family gathered the flashlights and candles, I readied the blankets. Power saving options were made for phones, iPads, and hand held video games. It was like planning for war. I recall having a big lunch so I could get through dinner. By the time night came, the real tests of courage and wit were initiated. The first night was ok, just your regular average every day night without power. A good nights rest and the power would be back on the next day...
Except it wasn't. Day two was still ok, a haircut earlier in the month didn't allow my hair to get too oily too quickly. There wasn't much movement, so no sweating occurred. Just stayed in bed all day playing our handhelds, dozing off every once in awhile. Getting up to eat was something to get used to, even on day two. Leftovers were eaten cold, and food as prepared with the intent of being served cold. This is where the family started to worry about our situation. I was still under the influence of "we'll get the power back soon," but my family had already started seeing what could and could not be eaten within the next couple days. Without power, no fridge. No fridge, less food - spoiled food. Lucky for us we have a gas stove, so we fried up as much of the meat we could. That was all the cooking that was done for today. We couldn't cook after nightfall.
When the time came, everyone gathered around and lit candles. I decided to start a new file of Ocarina of Time. Being in bed all day meant hours of playing through the night. Actually I believe I just got the first three stones before the whole "staring at light in the dark makes you tired" kind of thing. Day 3 was more or less the same thing. Bed all day, cold food, no shower, playing video games. Luckily for my parents they still had to work so they could escape the prison that was now my own home. What's worse is that phones started to die, and handhelds were soon starting to go also. It was later on that day that I probably realized that we were in this for the long run.
Day four was a relief. After days of no showering, we had come into contact with some family who had no power, but hot water. So sis and I (mom had been showering at work, and dad was too busy working) made it our business to get on over there and take advantage of the situation. Driving there was like driving through a different world. Trees and lines fallen, leaves EVERYWHERE, and really no one in sight. It was like Ichabod Crane and the Great Pumpkin from Charlie Brown had a mud wrestling match while the cast of Angry Beavers filmed using equipment made of wood. Also Whispy Woods was the referee.
After a well deserved shower by the candle light, we stuck around enjoying the company of other family as the day went away. We indulged in some ramen, card games, and good times. It really leaked the stress out, and made they day go by way faster. By nightfall sis and I were on our way back, to misery... and darkness. By this time we were kind of living on day to day updates about university closings and work closings... day five was kind of the "ok we're probably going to be out the rest of the week type update." That morning we had needed another shower. We certainly weren't going to drive the distance we had yesterday, but we found that our other cousin who lives much closer also had hot water, but no power. So we took it upon ourselves to go there, spend some more time with family. This was a shower by flashlight, which was a good change of pace, and afterwards we got to talking about gas prices.
Apparently, it had gotten to the point where people were so gas hungry, that they had to split getting gas by the license plate you had. Even #'d plates (last number) could only get gas on even numbered days. Same goes for odd. Zero is an even number (don't even know why that was even an issue) and custom plates were considered odd.
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| Guess that goes without saying. |
Luckily for me, I filled up on the Sunday before Sandy, so I was good. My cousin would make the trip down to Pennsylvania with his girlfriend just to avoid the fuss and the wait. Which is a good idea considering everyone around here would probably sell their own child just to get further up in the gas line. So many reports where people would get into fights about gas. This is all just from not having it for a couple of days. I understand gas is necessary for work and getting where you need to be. Imagine if we had gone without food and water. This place would be a mess. Instead of trying to be civilized and ration anything we have out, we have to fight for it like a pack of wild dogs. I digress...
We had saw that a couple of electricians were working on the power line across the street from where my cousin lived. That's always a good sign. I took the liberty to finish up my game of OoT (in record time). After the shower and the welcoming we had gone back to the house where we started throwing away even more stuff. Did the usual night in and when we awoke, we got the call that our cousin got his power back. Celebrations were had. I believe by then it was Friday/Saturday so I spent that night drinking a bit and taking in all my charged electronics and heated rooms and just all around luxury.
I fell asleep after a viewing of The Avengers, and had a warm sofa to sleep into. It was amazing. By then I had learned that work and school were going to be a thing following that Monday. The extra commute didn't bother me so much, at least we had electricity. Things went on as normal, but it soon became bittersweet. When the rest of my family started staying at my cousins, it became a little too crowded and a little too loud. During bedtime especially. BECAUSE OF ALL THE GODDAMN SNORING. Ok yes I am guilty of snoring from time to time, but this was a whole new level of snoring. It was like hearing a Snorlax orgy with Thomas the Tank Engine anally raping Optimus Prime. Barely got any rest that week. I had an arsenal of throw pillows at my side to chuck at the offender if it got too loud.
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| "Joo betta knock dat shit off Jamal or u aint gettin dark chocolate tonight." |
Our family had waited a total of 10 days to get the power back to our house. By then some of our fish died, our banana trees wilted, all our food gone. Trees were fallen, sidings were blown away. It was worse because there was another storm, a snow storm that hit during the process. Delayed the power even longer. By the time were out of it, there was just a lot to take in, and little time to do so. Eventually everything went back to normal. Some people to this day are still recovering (and this post took me weeks to type up). I wanted to write this out not only to remember the experience but to offer my opinion about something.
You always see commercials for disaster relief donations, and I bet you always think twice about making a donation, and whether you do or don't you'll get a different perspective out of it when you are part of the disaster. I get that my experience wasn't the worst of it by far, but it really gives you a new way to look at situations like this. I have to admit though, as I was listening to the radio I was starting to get annoyed. The station had made it known to everyone that they were going to help with cleanup and things. Donations obviously greatly appreciated. They had asked people to call in and see what they needed - blankets, trash bags, etc. That's all well and dandy and I'm sure they were happy to help. I was ok with everything until one lady called in. Instead of sounding like she was asking for it, it almost seemed like she was demanding it.
"We need blankets, we need bags, we need diapers, we need food - but nothing in cans cuz we ain't got nothing to open it with..." blah blah and more of that. I'm like bitch, you are gonna take what you get and you'll appreciate it. I get that you need help, just be humble about it. You're lucky to even have someone listening, cuz I would drive by your area, look at it, comment about how bad it is, and just move right along.
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| That'll buff riiiiight out... |
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| We needed to change the windows anyway.. and the door... and the roof. |
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| And well - ... you know this one's your problem. |
I'm just saying to appreciate what you have left, and be thankful for what help you're receiving. This hurricane really put that into perspective for me. It was a long strange journey... but it was definitely an experience. It'll show what things you hold as a priority. It'll show how much other people care about you. It'll show life and society for what it really is on the inside - good and bad. Live for the moment, cuz you don't know what's coming your way.
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| Whatta bitch |
ta ta kids
