Now, I’m thinking I might have to work forever! I have 2 points of reference for this:
1. I was unemployed for a time, after moving to NYC and before I found my current job. I generally spent every day, all day, in the local public library, using their internet to job search, taking up space, and reading. The total length of unemployment: 5 weeks.
2. I just spent the last 9 days at home. Doing NOTHING.
Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, that jerkface storm that ripped through the northeast, NYC lost all transportation options, had a bunch of flooding and fires and people without power and stuck AT HOME. For a week.
At first, I was like “YEAH. BRING IT, SANDY!” As I am a native Floridian, I have slept through many a hurricane. I went out and got back up batteries for the flashlights and made sure we had food in the house, and filled a couple pitchers with water. I was as prepared as I was going to get.
Unfortunately, NY is nothing like the flat lands of Florida. A LOT of NYC is right on the water, and have you ever noticed all these tall buildings we have everywhere? The winds between those skyscrapers have a canyon effect, whipping around and through the spaces in-between**. So, while wind whistled at my windows and howled down the lanes all around my beloved Brooklyn, I sat inside. In sweatpants.
Because, come on, if I am at home, that is a no-pants zone. Or at least, no work-pants. Shorts, gym shorts, sleep shorts and sweatpants are all acceptable on my couch.
But for the first couple of days, the storm was coming and then it was here, so you’re truly just stuck inside. After that, I was still stuck at home, but at least Boyfriend and I could go wandering and out to lunch just to get out of the house. Around Thursday, my gym opened back up, and I went to the gym each day, as another way of getting out of the house for a bit.
Do you know what there is to do all day long, when you’re sitting at home and have nowhere to be? Watch Judge Judy and Food Network. THAT’S IT. There isn’t anything that good on tv, and you can only stare at it for so long, before you start rolling around on the couch, flailing your arms about, and complaining to the other person trapped in the house with you, about how bored you are. OH, AND EAT LEFTOVER HALLOWEEN CANDY.
Trust me, that other person is not that sympathetic after Day 1. He would do that exasperated sigh-eye roll thing, wherein you know he’s really thinking “OMG. You are 26 years old. Entertain yourself and stop poking me in the sides, I am trying to play this game!”
Oh...wait. He didn’t think it, he just said it out loud to my FACE. :)
Leftover halloween candy is the most evil thing in the world. There it is, everytime you walk in the kitchen, taunting you from it’s bowl. “Eat me!” It says, “I am sooo delicious! You bought all your favorite kinds!” Well, of course I did. I didn’t want to have crappy candy sitting in my kitchen, leftover after the children had come and gone.
Except wait...because of the storm, NO ONE came and trick or treated! I had a giant bowl full of all of mine and BF’s favorite candies, just SITTING THERE, while I am just sitting around the house in flannel sleep shorts, bored. And do you know what happens when you’re bored? YOU MUNCH ON EVERYTHING.
In spite of the boredom and the childish taunting from brightly wrapped candies, BF and I were very lucky**. We didn’t have any damage and didn’t even lose power. In fact, most of our friends lost power, and they came over daily to bask in the glow of our 40-watts and to soak up some of our wondrous power. Yes, yes, we know we are powerful. Also, they helped us eat some of that damn candy. Good thing I don’t have kids. I’d be sifting through their loot like “Oh. THIS one looks dangerous, better hold onto that KitKat. Here, kid. You can have the tootsie rolls.”
I’m pretty sure my mom used to steal my halloween candy when I was a kid. Just sayin’, sometimes the inventory was off.
Back to the point. Sitting at home, not working and with nothing productive to do, is supercalafragalistically boring and being back at work is totally great. Yay, I am a productive, contributing member of society once again! Here's a poem.
An Ode To Leftover Halloween Candy:
There you sit,
Wrapped so brightly.
Taunting me with your sugaryness
And pulling me in tightly.
I try to resist
Your sugary high
But you sit, patiently waiting
Every time I walk by.
I tell myself,
“Just one or two!”
I think,
How bad can just one be for you?
Halfway through the bowl,
I wonder where it all went.
And at the audacity of the sugar
To change the way my mind bent.
Instead of a fruit
Or some healthier snack,
I now have Twizzlers and Twix
On full-out attack.
Your wrappers glint
Like sunlight off dew,
And the more I resist,
The more I'm drawn to you.
Teeming with candy,
Your light, you bestow.
Where, oh where,
The heck did it all go?
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**For those who were less fortunate than I, and to help my friends and neighbors here in NY, here is the information for donating to the clean up efforts and the victims of Hurricane Sandy:
Disney and ABC have teamed up with the American Red Cross for a “Day of Giving” to raise money for hurricane relief efforts. From “Good Morning America” to “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC shows will give viewers the chance to help those devastated by the storm by making a contribution to the American Red Cross. Here’s how you can participate:
- TEXT: Text ABC to 90999 to give a $10 donation to the Red Cross.
- ONLINE: Go to www.redcross.org/abc to make a donation of any amount.
- BY PHONE: Call 1-800-HELP-NOW. This number will bypass all the other menu options and direct your call to Hurricane Sandy relief.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/abcs-day-of-giving-to-help-hurricane-sandy-victims-live-blog/
You can also donate clothes and kid’s things to Red Cross, FEMA, Goodwill and Salvation Army, and many churches and synagogues around NYC.
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