Since moving to the East Coast, I've now experienced an earthquake and a hurricane - two natural disasters I had previously not had in my weather repertoire. I was out of town for the hurricane last year, so I'm a little behind, but I'm okay with it.
Over the weekend, we were warned that we'd be visited by Hurricane Sandy, dubbed "Frankenstorm" by the media in the early stages - but seemingly scrapped after sounding too frivolous and flippant about a storm that planned to wreak havoc all over the place - I'd say it's more fitting, but I guess we must respect Mother Nature and use their Christian names when talking about her rampaging daughters. No one was sure how badly it would hit the upper east coast, but no one wanted to be the reason people weren't prepared for a massive storm, so everyone was told to over-prepare and hope the media was all hyperbole in its warnings. Some people complain about how these storms get over-hyped, but I don't really mind, for a few reasons:
1. Better to plan for the worst, and get the best;
2. I got two days off of work from it.
Okay, so just 2 reasons, but both are completely valid and strong. I'd much rather we get prepared for the worst, so if the storm's weaker than planned, there's some room for error about anything else. What if they said it would be a mild storm, and then the storm is rather mild, but for 20 minutes, the wind is strong enough to throw a car around? No, I'd rather plan for an hour of powerful winds and just get 20 minutes of it, than to plan for medium strength winds and get 20 terrible minutes of deadly winds. You know? I'm all about "better safe than sorry."
Also, I really needed some time off work and to myself. I feel like I've been worn thin with obligations and social calls and meetings and responsibilities, and I really needed a day to myself, where I could sleep in and lounge in bed and do nothing - or whatever I felt like doing. All in my pajamas. With no makeup on. Without seeing anyone. I usually like to have at least Saturday morning like that, and I haven't even gotten that in the last few weeks. It's just been go go go, and I was exhausted. And then, I was told that our office was going to be closed on Monday! And on Tuesday! It was a miracle, wrapped up in a natural disaster.
Because I live in a spot that seems to get skipped over by the big effects of hurricanes apparently, I got to enjoy two quiet days of peace and relaxation, where I just snuggled up in my bed and watched movies and tv shows, and just hung out. Honestly, we probably could've gone back to work Tuesday, but I'm guessing the city wanted that day to check the areas and make sure there was nothing big they had to clean up before starting up the metro again and getting everything up and running again (totally fine by me). So I got my time to rest and recharge. It was beautiful.
My mom checked on me to make sure I was cozy and safe, with a good book to curl up in. My brother Ben, the amateur meteorologist, checked on me to make sure I was safe inside while the powerful 30 mph and growing winds swirled outside - no doubt he was following the storm via the Weather Channel and various news sites all day, tracking its course and strength as it spun northward. My sister Abby checked on me to make sure I was safe and that I was coming to Chicago for Christmas (mixed priorities, I totally understand). And a few friends checked on me to see if I had power - which I did. Turns out they didn't, so apparently it was on their minds. Weird.
So my first hurricane experience wasn't too bad at all. I'd rather not experience a worse one, though. My thoughts and prayers go out to those in New York and New Jersey who lost property or belongings from the havoc the hurricane caused up north. Hopefully they were at least all safe and evacuated away from their homes. And I hope the devastation can be cleaned up relatively quickly. Being displaced sucks, so fingers crossed it won't last too long for them.
And now it's Halloween, and I don't think it's quite as festive as usual - the after-effects of a giant storm, I suppose. But I'm {not so} secretly happy our trick-or-treating numbers are down a little this year: more chocolate for me!
Don't look at me like that. I just survived a hurricane. You battle Frankenstorm and I'll give you chocolate, too.
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