For the first time ever in the history of my blogging...I felt the need to do two entries this week. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, New Yorkers were treated to unseasonably beautiful weather on Monday - Wednesday of this week. The unbearable humidity and summer thunderstorms were a thing of the past, making way for a summer breeze. And dare I say it...I actually was a little chilly during my morning walk to the office. In California, whenever we have unseasonable temperatures...we say that it's "earthquake weather", but who knew that same thing applied to New York! Yes, New Yorkers did experience a minor earthquake this week...which caused quite a bit of hype in the city and in social media. Californians were mocking the quick and somewhat unnecessary panic that the earthquake caused. And New Yorkers were fearing the worst. The last earthquake in the city was during WWII, and the last time anyone in the city felt their building rumble in that nature...it was September 11th. So yes, there were random building evacuations, and yes, the magnitude of the earthquake was minor compared to what California has been through, but NYC is not prepared for the disaster that comes with an earthquake, and I'm thankful that there was no damage or injuries, because in a city built entirely of ONLY skyscrapers, it could have been catastrophic. Hopefully we don't have to deal with that again for the rest of our time in the city.
In other news, the East Coast was rocked this week by a pretty nasty hurricane....Irene. All week, our eyes have been glued to the weather station & New York one for updates on where Irene would strike next, and how you should prepare for the potential destruction that comes along with a tropical storm. Again, New York City has not seen damage from a hurricane since the 1800s, and the city is not exactly "geographically blessed" if a hurricane were to strike. So the city took extreme measures to prevent devastation. Apartments were evacuated in Manhattan as well as Brooklyn & Hoboken, and all mass transit (including trains, subways, busses) were suspended until after the hurricane was scheduled to pass. Businesses were boarded up with plywood and windows were taped to prevent them from shattering. Stores quickly sold out of bottled water, batteries, flashlights and the essential "survival kit" items. Grocery stores were packed with check-out lines of up to 100 people! The city that never sleeps was eerily quiet.
For those of you who know my husband, it shouldn't surprise you to know that he already has a fully stocked survival kit...but I think his was more in anticipation of some type of hostile takeover in America...rather than a hurricane. So we were stocked...with the exception of food...which we quickly solved with a few take out orders. My husband's survival kit also consisted of unrealistic amounts of booze/beer. If we were to lose electricity, and if the city were to be shut down...at least we wouldn't be bored.
And I say it now because I know we're safe, but one thing New Yorkers are really good at doing is finding an excuse to party. So what better way to spend the night before what was supposed to be the biggest hurricane to hit New York in over a century than with friends at a bar? In anticipation of the storm, we all headed out to the LES to have a little mini hurricane party complete with complimentary snacks (well...chips) and shots. The only cars on the road at all were taxis who were put on the earth to ensure that we were transported to and from our apartment safely.
The damage to NYC was minimal and I feel extremely lucky that we did not experience any flooding and power outages as was suspected. There is still some devastating damage in other parts of the East Coast, but we're happy to be safe and spared from the wrath of Hurricane Irene. But she has left her mark in other ways...as we are all experiencing "category 4" hangovers!!! Thank you Irene!
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