As all here on the East Coast are probably aware from the wall-to-wall news coverage, we are currently headed for a bumpy ride tonight as a freak mish-mash of once-in-a-lifetime atmospheric events will create a giant Nor’easter/Hurricane, with snow slated for those further up north and west.
Friends of mine living along the Williamsburg waterfront have been evacuated. Friends around Wall Street barely made it into Evacuation Zone B, thus avoiding having to leave their homes for a few days.
For those of you who are curious, you can see from the blue arrow above that I am safe and sound, being just outside Evacuation Zone C. During Hurricane Irene, I was in Evacuation Zone B — and since this is scheduled to be an even worse storm, it just makes me wonder why I was more in danger last time than this time . . . Hmmmm . . . !
The wind has been gusting at 20-40 mph all day, heading up to 70-90 mph tonight. Yikes! A crane just collapsed in Midtown, and ConEd just robo-called me to say that Lower Manhattan may lose power as a “precautionary measure.”
New Yorkers are such a stubborn bunch. The news keeps reporting on people who refuse to leave their beach homes or their Hudson River-facing high-rises — which is just stupid in my opinion. Always better to be safe than sorry!
In the case that I do lose power, I am all set for the storm. I have stocked up on bottled water, batteries, Bourbon, and cigarettes!
Because you can’t smoke ’em if you don’t got ’em 😉
All joking aside, everyone please stay safe the next couple of days!
For more updates, the New York Times has comprehensive coverage of Hurricane Sandy here.
And for a little bit of dark humor, check out the fake twitterfeed of Miguel Bloombito, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “Spanish-speaking” doppelganger. For those of you who have been cringing at the Mayor’s attempts to give out storm updates in Spanish himself, this will be hilarious.
coolcookstyle 
Stay safe!
Will try! A friend just emailed me to say that she made a big batch of Dark and Stormy (is that the plural of Dark & Stormy?). Another friend told me that he had a hard time deciding what was more important: bottled water or bottled craft beer!
Clearly we have our priorities in order 😉
Stay safe Daisy. Fill the bath tub with water.
Thank you, Rosemary! I did fill up my bathtub! I was totally thinking about you while I was doing it too!
Good luck with ConEdisono 😉 And Sandy!
Stay safe.
I wish you good luck with ConEdisoño too!!! Stay warm and safe tonight!
Stay safe! 2nd the advice on filling the bathtub (or at least large containers) with water.
Even our weather turned rainy and windy in solidarity with yours (after a stretch of beautiful golden autumn days). But of course, that’s just so typically Belgian!
Thank you, Victoria! Done and done.
I can’t tell you how quiet the East Village is right now. I mean, it’s actually really noisy from the gusty wind, but it’s a complete ghost town! I just hope the electricity holds . . .
In an inappropriate side-note, I might add that I am a little disappointed that the storm will likely interrupt my favorite East Village people-watching spectacle of the year: The Day After Halloween Walk of Shame to the Subway 😉
Does this mean there’s a party at your house? I imagine that buying cigarettes by the carton would be good idea. You never know when the black market will sky rocket.
It was a party last night! Then the cold reality (and freezing morning shower with untreated water) settled in. Have left for higher ground! Update forthcoming!
Stay safe.
Thanks, Mouse!
Thank goodness you’re okay! I saw the news last night about NYC and I cringed. The bourbon and butts comment made me laugh so hard. I called my grandparents before The Perfect Storm years ago to find out if they were all set. Grampy’s like, “Yeah. We’re okay. I got my instant coffee.” Some people need generators and chainsaws. Others need coffee and cigarettes. Who am I to judge another person’s preparedness? Stay safe my friend! Keep us updated!
Thanks, Dear! Will do! Update forthcoming . . .
We’ve been looking at pictures of the city on the web. It is hard to imagine water on the streets of New York. The people who refuse to leave are like those facing Katrina – they don’t want to leave because they will abandon all they have. Stay safe girl, and do what it takes. Here is a quote from someone who has lived through 10 hurricanes over 30 years:
“…, please know that your survival in hurricane or any other weather crisis will depend 100% on how well YOU and YOU ALONE are prepared to meet it.”
Thank you Scroungelady! As soon as it got safe enough to move around outside, I left for a friend’s apartment on higher ground. I wasn’t in an evacuation zone this time, but I should have been!!!
Well I’m glad you were prepared for the power-outage, since you sure got it! I escaped any trouble out where I am in Brooklyn–feeling very lucky, for sure. Thanks for the tip on Miguel Bloombito–hi-LAR-ious!! 🙂
You are very lucky indeed! We might not get power restored in EV for a few more days, possibly even a week. When I heard that, I knew I had to figure out a plan. Am staying with a friend on the UES!