Working from home today because the city is shut down due to "Frankenstorm" Hurricane Sandy currently bearing down on the northeastern seaboard. Landfall is estimated to be a few hours from now, just a little south of Atlantic City, although I wouldn't find it far-fetched if it lands somewhere north of there. Either way that places New York City directly in the path of the hurricane's strongest winds on its northeastern quadrant. Already we're experiencing over 50 mph winds, and the worst won't even come until after 6 tonight when winds are projected to reach anywhere between 80 and 90 mph at their strongest. Yikes!
Of course, the actual worst part is not so much the winds (we've weathered worst hurricanes, wind-wise), but the huge storm surge it will bring when high tide comes. We could see 11 foot waves crashing into lower Manhattan, which is more than high enough to breach the barriers in place down there. And wouldn't you know it, that's near where I work!
Luckily the city's had the foresight to shut down the metro system and tell everyone to stay home. I'm doing fine where I live, as we're quite elevated above the rest of the city and all our power lines are beneath the ground. Living here all my life, we've never once had the power shut down due to a storm. Not once. And so long as I have my Internet and refrigerator, I'm sitting pretty and waiting the whole thing out.
So, in other words: I'm doing fine, my friends. Completed the short story I've been working on last night and looking forward to going back in and pruning about 2,000 words or so. Will be one hell of an edit, but I think I can do it. I want to get the story under 5k words if possible, although that might be too tall of an order for the type of tale I wanted to tell. We'll see.
How are things in your neck of the woods? If you're in the path of Sandy as well, how are you faring?
Lastly, I hope you all are preparing for Halloween later this week. Last year Mother Nature came as a Nor'easter. This year, she's a hurricane. Can anyone top that?
Glad to hear you're holed up safely. Good for you on completing your short story! The editing sounds more daunting but I'm confident you'll knock it out in no time!
ReplyDeleteHalloween should be grand this year, it's COLD here! Well, cold for us anyway.
Be safe!
So glad I moved out of Harlem!Safe back in the Bronx where I belong! Can't go to work 'cause everything is shut down. Didn't go yesterday just in case. The bridges will probably be open tomorrow so I have no choice. Should've left the car in Queens then I'd still be 'stuck home' from work. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read this newest masterpiece of yours. Good luck with the edit.
Glad you're doing well. I've been thinking of everyone on the east coast...
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody. We weathered the . . . well, weather perfectly fine. No power outages or flooding where I live. Can't say the same for the rest of the city, and it looks like I won't be going back to work until next Monday at the earliest. Unfortunately, since I'm a supervisor I have to stay connected to the office VPN from home and monitor everything. Sucks, but this is what being a grownup is all about I guess.
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