Just wanted to let you know that Rocktivity's in the house
Last edited Thu Nov 8, 2012, 09:31 PM - Edit history (1)
You can stop dragging the river, I'm here.
Irvington NJ south of Springfield Ave is still out. Six downed trees that I've counted, which haven't been touched yet. But I'm counting my blessings.
For now, at least, I have hot water and can use my stove (but not the oven), and I've got a radio for listening to Air America. The shopping district is at full power, so I least I can withdraw cash and buy food, and the buses have started running.
I'm reduced to checking in once a day from the public library from now on. I have missed you very much, it doesn't look like I'll have power before election day. Can the president postpone it the way Christie did Halloween?
rocktivity
= new reply since forum marked as read
a lot of folks. Hang in there, our President is working on it! 
So you have missed me! will check in tomorrow!
rocktivity
Last edited Mon Nov 5, 2012, 05:55 PM - Edit history (4)
I stuck it out longer than I would have because they got Jersey City and Newark back online so quickly, and Irvington is right next door. But as of Friday, the trees were still on the electric lines, and the neighbors say they haven't seen a single PSEG truck yet. During the day, people are around checking on their property, but at night, it was a ghost town -- no candlelight in windows, and even my landlord is gone. PSEG says three more days at least. So I, too, have self-deported, complete with a 20-inch computer monitor, to a motel near Newark Airport complete with prostitutes. And I'm sending FEMA the bill.
I've got a mini-fridge and microwave so I won't have to eat junk food every day, and I'm going back to Irvington on Tuesday to vote. But most important, the hotel's WiFi has kicked in so I can stop texting by phone, making me a full-fledged DUer again!
rocktivity
Last edited Sun Nov 11, 2012, 12:30 AM - Edit history (12)
When I "commuted" from my motel near Newark Airport to my local polling place, I learned that the neighborhood had gotten its lights back on the night before. No Internet though, so there was no point in coming home until yesterday.
This morning, I got up at 8AM, saw that the time on my cable box still read 12:00, and self-piteously went back to bed. When I got up again, the time read 12:43, and it really WAS 12:43 -- my Internet and cable were back! So I guess my chapter of the Hurricane Sandy saga is officially over, and it's time for gratitude to all who helped me cope.
With only a radio to rely on, I bounced between Seton Hall U. WSOU (music), WFAN/ESPN (sports coverage and derision at Mayor Bloomberg's not cancelling the NYC Marathon), and NJ 101.5 (local info and broadcasting the Red Cross benefit NBC-TV did). And thanks to DU and the motel's Wifi, I didn't have to rely on major network coverage (though I did enjoy glimpsing at all the sad faces on Fox). All I had to do keep refreshing the Latest Threads link on my cellphone!
Lessons learned? I have a radio, and I've always kept a supply of batteries, lights, candles, and matches, so I was prepared in that sense. Though I didn't lose gas, I also have some chafing dish burners so I can cook over tin cans supporting an oven rack. And since Hurricane Irene, I've followed a DUer's advice to keep a gallon jug of water in the freezer, which kept my food cold for three extra days. If there's anything I regret, it's not having a personal hotspot for my cell phone -- I couldn't make calls until Saturday.
But for thousands of others, Hurricane Sandy won't be over for a very long time. There's still much to be done, and I hope you won't forget them just because there will be less media coverage. Join me in doing whatever you can to help.
Well, until the next perfect storm...
http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations
https://civ.moveon.org/donatec4/sand...76-gzCw9ux&t=1
rocktivity
