Hurricane Irene (A Sort of Survival Story)

Hurricane Irene wasn't quite as kind to a
 neighbor of ours as she was to us. 

In August of 2005 we learned to take hurricanes and hurricane warnings very seriously.


I mean, you only need to go without running water and electricity for days once in your life to learn that hurricanes can really mess up your day. (Point proven in picture to the left.)



With that being said, we were very aware of Irene creeping her way up the Atlantic coast toward NYC.

Hurricane's a comin'

We were very aware of it on Tuesday when both Alex and I worked until after 9 pm. We were very aware of it on Wednesday when we were both out of the apartment for 14+ hours. And we were very aware of it on Thursday when Channel 7 Eyewitness News started warning New Yorkers of an approaching category 3 storm on our doorstep.  We were aware of it. But we didn't have time to do anything about it.

Until my dad called.

My dad is a very level headed man. He doesn't panic, he doesn't take media hype and run with it. So, when my dad called on Thursday night and told me to get to the store right that minute and buy supplies for the weekend...I listened. Alex and I went to our local (and very expensive) grocery store and bought peanut butter, granola bars, pasta, crackers, and chips. Things that wouldn't need refrigeration but things that we would also eat under normal circumstances.

Friday morning, Alex went and bought water and candles while I was at work educating tomorrow's world leaders.

Friday afternoon we had a staff meeting with an update at the possible severity of the storm and that our building would be closed for the weekend.

Friday night our friends from Manhattan came over but left in time to make sure they wouldn't get stuck here with MTA shutting down service.

Water was everywhere. But thankfully,
only in increments of one to two inches.
At least in our neighborhood. 

Saturday morning Alex and I got up and assessed the weather. Very grey, rainy, and windy but no hurricane conditions quite yet. There were many people moving on the streets in our neighborhood (more than usual, actually, due to the total shut down of NYC subways) so we took Maggie May for a quick walk and then decided to go out to breakfast. Our logic being that we were about to be shut up in our 475 sq. ft. apartment for 24 hours so we deserved a morning out. (By the way, the resulting breakfast at aBistro on Dekalb was some of the best we've had...ever!)

After breakfast things hadn't picked up that much so we decided to make a dash down to Starbucks so I wouldn't be out of my iced coffee during the storm. There is only so much a girl can live without, after all.

Sadly, Starbucks was closed. The sign said something that made me think that Starbucks Corporation felt the immediate safety needs of its employees outweighed the caffeine needs of the addicted. I'm still not sure how I feel about that one.

While we were in the Atlantic Terminal area, though, we decided to take a peek into Target.

We expected absolute mayhem. What we found was absolute calm. At this point, it was already after 1 pm and the panicking crowds had been out earlier that morning. We browsed Target with less crowds than we had ever seen. We bought a few items, tea candles, batteries, and the such, and walked home...in the now pounding rain.

A bit of Ft. Green Park flooded with
 about 7 inches of water. Maggie really enjoyed
the impromptu swimming hole. 

The next 24 hours were uneventful...really.




Rain, wind, power (yes, we had power throughout the whole storm), snacking, wind, lots of rest, minor flooding, Mad Men, trees falling, lesson planning and, have I mentioned rain?




Mercifully, Ft. Greene Brooklyn seemed to have made it out with very minor damage and a blast of wonderfully fall feeling weather.

New York City has such a reputation for being bold, arrogant, and tough. I guess Hurricane Irene just wasn't up to the challenge.

After the storm. 

And thank goodness for that.