Tag Archives: Hurricane Sandy

Exhausted, but happy!

02 Sunday Dec 2012

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Today I went to Breezy Point, Queens, NY with a group of volunteers. We cleaned out a basement and gutted and demolished 2 houses.

house, Breezy Point

It was eerie getting into Breezy Point.  All I saw was policemen, firemen, and other organizations.  The house and other properties seemed abandoned.

There were no kids playing, teenagers running around, people walking/jogging, nothing of the usual images that makes up what we think a small shore town should look like.

The houses we worked on were right on the water, the view and location was amazing, but it is hard to reconcile the beauty of the view with the destruction that I am witnessing.

I ask myself: Would I want to live this close to the water?  the answer is no!  I love and I am grateful for nature and the ocean, for the beauty of it and for all it affords us, but since the tsunami in 2004 my respect for nature is becoming a fear. 😦

Breezy Point

Unfortunately besides all the garbage and debris removed from the houses, at one of them we located the owner’s dead cat that we found behind the insulation.  I guess it tried desperately to escape the rising water and failed.

It has been a real long time since I have felt this physically exhausted.  Every muscle in my body hurts.  But it is good pain.

I enjoy manual labor, I enjoy cleaning.  I wish I could do it more often.

Besides the joy of the manual labor and the joy of helping families that desperately need help, I had the joy of bringing home this old wooden tennis racket (only a tennis lover could appreciate it!).   We had saved some of the contents of the houses that we were clearing out for the owners to confirm it was garbage.  The owner decided that she no longer wanted to keep her mother’s old tennis racket, so I happily brought it home!:)

I am looking forward to Pilates tomorrow because of the stretching that I get at the end of it.  I am also looking forward to volunteer again next Saturday!

Bye Bye Sandy – Day 9

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

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Internet just came back so I am able to continue my one blog a day without interruption:)

I spent last night during the storm watching TV, eating popcorn and talking on the phone.  I didn’t lose power and only lost internet during the day today.

I have been extremely lucky.  Some water went through my balcony door and my 25 year old baby (pictured below) got scratched up, but that was it!

I do realize how blessed and lucky I am! Homes and belongings have been lost, but worst of all, lives have been lost.  For those souls I say a prayer.  May God comfort the people that have lost loved ones.

My friend Mary lost her 11 year old cousin due to a fallen tree.  I cannot imagine losing anyone, specially a child.  My heart, thoughts and prayers are with her, her family and specially with the parents and surviving brother.

We don’t have power in our offices in Manhattan, so we will be working out of a rented conference room at a Hotel. I have no idea how I am going to get there.  I guess if a co-worker is not driving in I will have to call a car service.  Oh well, I am going to sleep now and deal with it in the morning.

Now, turn to your loved ones and tell them how much they mean to you! We don’t know how much time we have.

I am going home – Sandy or no Sandy! – Day 8

29 Monday Oct 2012

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Staying in a hotel to be near work during this storm was probably not one of my best ideas, so this morning I packed up and checked out.

I am at work now and a co-worker that lives in the same town I do drove in so that he can take me home.

I have offers from friends to go to their house but I think I rather stay at my apartment, but I will re-think that if need be.  There is something comforting about being in your own bed at times like this, but safety is number one.

Thank you so much for all the prayers and positive thoughts! They are all welcomed and very much appreciated!

I am praying that we are all safe no matter where we are and what we are doing! May peace be in our hearts and minds!

A blessed day to all!

 

Day 7: I carry it in my heart

29 Monday Oct 2012

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I go through Grand Central Station every week day and it is normally a obstacle course trying to navigate it among the commuters and tourists.

Today it was very different.  This evening Grand Central Station was a ghost town with guards standing at the doors just letting people out and informing the people trying to get in that the station is closed.

I feel odd today.  I am not sure what to think.  Is this Hurricane Sandy a sure thing or just media hype? It feels weird leaving my apartment and my brand new table behind. Is everything going to be there in a couple of days when I return?

I am feeling weird sitting alone in a hotel room in New York City.  I am staying in Manhattan to be close to work since the trains stopped 7 pm tonight.  I am trying not to let the victim in me come out.  I am trying not to feel so alone in the most populous city in the USA.  At times like this is very hard not to feel all alone in the world. I need to snap out of it.

My favorite show, Amazing Race is on.  Today they are in Bangladesh, and seeing some of the day laborers working in such poor conditions, and seeing all the kids on the street with huge smiles on their faces snaps me out of the “poor me” mentality real quick.  I am blessed for so many reasons.  I have so many reasons to smile. More than the material comforts I have been blessed with a rich soul and a rich heart.

I know how to appreciate everything I have, specially my breath.  Having life is the greatest gift of all and that is enough!  So, to spend even a minute feeling sorry for myself it would be such a waste of precious time.   I don’t need to have people physically right next to me to know that I am loved.  My family is in my heart and in my thoughts and I am in theirs.

To quote E. E. Cummings:

“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)”

 

hhhh