#strandedinbrooklyn

Brooklyn goes huge on Halloween--even after a major disaster has occurred. I started last night at a kid's pizza party at Alex and Jude's place. It was awesome! Sawyer was a robot. There were a few small subway cars, an elephant,  a cowboy, a dinosaur, a really sweet little cat and a few others. I had big plans to get out of Park Slope for the evening (that hasn't happened all week) so, I split after an hour or so. I changed into my costume and headed over to Williamsburg via car service--no subway. I met up with Neely at a bar called Lucky's near her new place and we caught up for a bit over a glass of wine. She still had to change into her costume before we went out so after our drink we left. We found the cheapest/best Mexican I've had in a long time. I can't remember the name of the place (somewhere near S 1st off of Bedford). We ordered two chorizo tacos, a chicken quesadilla, chips and guac for $13.50. Win! After dinner, we headed to meet my friend Kayte and her crew at The Brooklyn Bowl. It was...interesting? I'm not sure the show we saw was legal but, there was an awful lot of naked booty-shakin! We had a few drinks and eventually ran into Jay's friend Lee who was out and about. He's an agent for Skrillex now so, he shared stories of a recent movie premier during which he sat next to Will Ferrell. Ha! Fellow Toki-yo-go-go rubbing elbows with celebs! Funny. He hooked us up with bracelets so we could join his friends in the bowling area of the club. Fun! Kayte and her crew were headed across the street to Kinfolk. I eventually popped over there for a few to see the bar and do a bit of dancing. It turned out to be a pretty interesting Halloween filled with lots of crazy costumes and a bunch of new peeps. 

I woke up this morning with a hint of a headache. I started by checking my email. I had some. There was work to do. My internet and phone signal has been pretty awful for the last few days but, I shouldn't complain. I have power. I have water. I have food and a bed to sleep in. I ventured out to my cafe to check email more easily. No internet. I headed to the library. No internet. Same at the museum-- although I stayed there for a bit to see what I could see. I can't believe I haven't visited before now. It's a great spot. Finally, I found internet at a hole-in-the wall cafe 3 blocks from home. Success! I was online for 3 hours...just enough time to get the major fires at work put out. Relief. 

Here's something I'm writing down as a reminder for myself and anyone else who might be reading. My problems are not real problems. They are inconveniences. I have been "stuck" in Park Slope all week. I'll be here tomorrow too since my office still doesn't have power. I'm fine though. No biggie. I have what I need. But, I have seen the tone shift in the last day. This morning was the first day that people really made a serious attempt to get to Manhattan. You can pick up the bus at the Atlantic Station if you're willing to wait in the line that wraps around the Barclay Center, twice. Then you can look forward to a 2 hour trip into the city. Time to get a bike. The guy who drove me to Williamsburg last night complained of the long gas station lines or no gas at all. We passed a number of stations with lines that were a 1/2 mile long. It's not locals. It's people coming here from all of the affected areas. It reminded me of how removed  I am from all that's happening around me. Don't get me wrong, I've been watching at least 2 hours of news a day trying to keep track of what's safe,  what's clean, what's open, timetables for repair, etc. I heard the constant sirens and today, the honking horns that came with the above ground rush hour traffic. I'm in touch with so many of the stories and it's really fucking sad. So many people have lost almost everything. Today is Day 3, the day that patience ran out. How long can you live without the conveniences of a civilized society before you crack? In this case there are too many to help all at once and everyone needs the same thing. All you can do is offer up your home, your shower, your outlets, your internet or maybe just listen. I've gotten to hear NJ Governor Chris Christie speak this week. He's killing it. Such an amazing guy with strong leadership skills. Obama too. He's on it. Go team. 

I'm not a NY'er (yet) but, I've witnessed a kindness and generosity through all of this that would make any community proud. Things will be better soon. Hopefully, NYC will be stronger for having gone through this.