Extreme Weekend: Waiting on Irene

After what seemed like a frightening enough experience this week with a ten second earthquake, New York City is set to experience yet another natural disaster this weekend. Rare for the North East, this area is getting its fair share of preparing, experiencing, and enduring the type of wrath mother nature can produce. Next on the agenda is Hurricane Irene.

The upcoming weekend shall be interesting as being from this once natural disaster immune area known as the North East, I, along with others from this area, have very little experience in preparing and surviving hurricanes.

The only experience with hurricane preparation was about ten years ago when New York City was expected to get pounded by a tropical storm. Schools were cancelled and a few offices were closed. However, all we ever received on that Monday morning was some rain, a few rumblings and lightning. Nothing of impact at all.

Irene, however, is something all the more serious, and all the more real.

For years I've witnessed hurricane coverages and alerts from afar and on television as our neighbors to the South boarded up windows, evacuated, and watched in hope as the chance of the storm destroyed whatever it wanted. Visions of Hurricane Katrina, and the damage and destruction done to New Orleans always come to mind.

Lower Manhattan is expected to be flooded up to 4 feet

Today at work, I experienced this frantic and urgent preparation first hand. Gone were the usual casual attire, as I donned shorts and a t-shirt as our entire company worked with city officials from the Mayor and Governor's office moving valuables out of our basement storage area in preparation of mass flooding. For the non DP devotees and those who aren't aware, my offices are right on the West Side highway, a part of the vital "Zone A" area which has been declared an evacuation zone for the weekend.

After leaving work and watching as several surrounding buildings boarded up windows with clever sayings spray painted such as "Go home Irene", the images I once only experienced on television, was now in living color.

The hurricane experience (madness) continued as my tag team partner and I went grocery shopping in order to stock up for the weekend, and of course, prepare for any unfortunate situations.

Pre-Irene Grocery Shopping aka Grocery Battle Royal

In a few words, the grocery store was just as crazy and insane. A total visit of two hours, which included an hour wait on the check out line. Never have I ever seen a grocery store as congested, even on the night before Thanksgiving.

As the coverage continues to be updated as I strike these keys, I'm sure there are more thoughts and ponders that will be posted as Irene makes here way through.

All in all, whether it be an earthquake, or an impending hurricane, we are forced to take a step back, and put the most important things in life in perspective.

In the past year, especially, New York City has experience a tornado, an earthquake, and now a hurricane.

Personally, I think it's fair to say the good Lord is attempting to send this city and greater area a message.

Extreme Weekend: Me, Myself, and Irene (Through The Night)
Extreme Weekend: Goodnight (Morning), Irene

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