Your not-so-normal Monday post. Except I kiss a Rasta at one point, so there's that.

Ok. So I got my power back this morning and things are looking up! Except the three hour commute to work, but there’s really very little anyone can do about that at the moment, and so I’ll choose not to complain about it. Except by merely mentioning it, I kind of was able to complain while saying I wasn’t complaining, which actually makes me a mad genius.

Anyway, this isn’t your typical Monday post. BUT, I promise you that it’ll be back to normal with all of its glorious fluff and wit (allegedly) tomorrow!

But today I wanted to say this: the people in this region are slowly getting power back, and with that power we’re seeing the wreckage from the storm and coming to realize just how much was destroyed/damaged and how lucky we all were that it wasn’t even worse. And after much discussion with friends and co-workers over the last few days, I think it’s safe to say that the people here are experiencing what I can only describe as some sort of low level depression. People are in shock, irritable, tired, emotionally drained, and without the resources we all take for granted.

If you have the time and/or money to give, please check out some really great sites for more info here and here.

Also, I think it’s important to acknowledge some of the good that I’ve seen over the last several days. Know why? Because the news makes me want to slowly carve out my own eyeballs. It’s important, but it’s depressing, and some of this goodness is what kept me going.

So, in no particular order, here we go:

• I slept on my best friends’ couch for four days. That in and of itself is kindness above and beyond. For those of you who haven’t had the luxury of seeing me when I wake up, it’s a sight I wouldn’t wish on anyone but those who have known me since I was 12.  And it’s not like I was in the best of moods, so I’m sure I was pure joy and sunshine to be around at all waking moments. But for these guys, it seemed effortless, which was all the more amazing because I know it required a lot of effort and sacrifice on their part. There really just is no proper way to say thank you, but I’ll sure try! 

• People who miraculously didn’t lose power on a block in Hoboken set up shop all up and down their brownstones with tables of coffee and power cords to charge your phones, laptops, etc. They called it “Mug and Plug” – bring your own mug for coffee, warm up, charge your stuff, and get out of your cold, dark apartments for a while. This was a lifesaver and completely unexpected.

• Some of the restaurants in Hoboken opened their doors the day after the storm and kept them open, giving away free food and water. 

• My friend baked chocolate chip cookies and we handed them out to people in the gas lines. Sometimes people waited for hours and were then turned away because the stations ran out of gas. But seeing the look on the faces of those weary people as my friends’ three and a half year old little girl with pink angel wings said “Excuse me, would you like a cookie while you wait?” was priceless.

• I went to Hoboken City Hall to sign up to volunteer a few days ago and was turned away because there were already too many volunteers. What? Does that even happen? I’ll keep that in mind next time people trash-talk New Yorkers (and New Jerseyans….New Jerseyites? Oh jeez, people from New Jersey). 

I totally scored with the Rasta.
I think his wicked skateboarding
skillz just got to me. 

• I headed out to see CB and his family/friends last week and these people are a good time, no joke. So since all of us were affected by the storm in one way or another, most without or just getting power back, we hung out in sweats and decided it’d be a really good idea to skateboard up and down the hallway. I know, right? Genius. However, it was made even better when CB decided to don what would’ve been his Halloween costume, which was a Rasta. Obviously. It was awesome and I laughed so hard that I cried as the Rasta skateboarded back and forth for the cameras.  These people know how to turn a disaster into a hilarious disaster and I’m fortunate to count each of them as my friends.

• I got hundreds of texts, phone calls, emails, Facebook posts, blog messages, and tweets from people checking in, offering their help, and just generally reminding me that I’m one of the luckiest people there is! It was humbling and a daily and sometimes hourly reminder that you people rock.

Alright guys, I’ll be back tomorrow and the rest of the week with more “normal” posts, so stay tuned! And thanks for all of your support as we get up and moving again!

Happy Monday!