Aftermath along the coast and Manhattan

While I recently wrote about what I saw in my small part of the world, others in this area of dealing with much worse. Areas along the coast of Long Island and parts of NYC wee flooded by sea water. The pictures of beach towns such as Long Beach, NY and Atlantic City, NJ are worse than anything I've seen in my life time. My uncle lives in the high 30's along First Avenue. His high rise building has no power. That means no heat, no cooling, and no water. You can't flush the toilet unless you have water to fill the toilet. He lives on the 53rd floor and the elevators won't move. This means that if you need anything then it's a trek down 53 flights of stairs and then back up 53 flights of stairs. Crazy stuff. Let's just say that he's not going out to his car to charge his phone like I can. Someone who lives further down town mentioned that she had 5' of water in the lobby of her building along Avenue "C." Needless to say, she has no power and neither do most of the people who live in lower Manhattan. For those of you who haven't had the chance to see the aftermath of Sandy, here are a few images:

Long Beach, NY Monday Afternoon (Notice the Avalon Awning)

Long Beach, NY Monday Night (Same place, but Avalon is swamped)

Long Beach, NY Tuesday Morning (Broadway is full of sand)

Long Beach, NY Tuesday Morning (Boardwalk damaged by waves!)

Long Beach, NY Tuesday Morning (Michigan and Park. Look at the sand against the house)

Atlantic City, NJ Tuesday Morning (The boardwalk is gone)

Red Hook, Brooklyn Monday Evening (Not even close to the worst of it)

14th Street Manhattan Monday Evening (Look at the black car, the electronic lock shorted out!)

14th Street Manhattan

Inside my friend's building along Ave C in Manhattan

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (Manhattan Side)

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Manhattan (Water peaked at 12' inside the tunnel)

Ground Zero / Trade Center Site

As the water rose in Manhattan, the lights started to go off in select buildings until finally the water entered a Con Edison Switching Sub-Station Facility and there was an explosion. This video is shot from Brooklyn.

 

 Yeah, bro. "Fuck" is about all I could come up with myself. Well, after the switching sub-station blew up the power went out everywhere below 30th Street in Manhattan. Check these out

Tuesday Morning (Surreal)

Most of the above pictures are from the east side of Lower Manhattan. The East River runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan so most of the skyline images are from Brooklyn. The Hudson River runs between the west side of Manhattan and New Jersey. The following pictures are from Hoboken, NJ which borders the Hudson River

 After taking in all these images I realize how fortunate I am to be okay and have my biggest concern as the frying cheese in my fridge going bad because I have no power. Those I care about are intact, my personal property is A-Okay, and I think the Babylon meeting is open by candle-light tonight. There is absolutely nothing to complain about except maybe a lack of snugz. Then again, I have a little stuffed G-raf. God bless, folks.

Aftermath on Long Island

Hurricane Sandy is the worst storm that I can remember. We had high winds, but thankfully little rain. The lack of rain was a 2 fold blessing: 1. F=MA Pure physics. If the mass that the 70mph to 90mph wind gusts was carrying was higher then the force behind those winds would have been even greater. 2. If the ground was saturated for days before, like it was with Hurricane Irene, then the trees, sign posts, telephone poles, etc have weaker anchor points in the ground and become more susceptible to the blowing wind. I had thought that the damage Hurricane Irene wrought last year would have weaned the weak trees down through attrition... leaving only the strongest trees standing (Yeah, go Darwin! Woop). I was wrong...

5 out the 6 above pictures were taken on my winding way to work! I say winding because many roads were closed and we were forced to weave through a bunch of side streets. I can only imagine what the rest of the surrounding area looks like at the moment.

My friend John's house. Ouch! Notice the white car is damaged the worst. A racist storm? Hmm. You tell me, friends.

A building a few blocks from my office. One of our buildings lost about 1/3 of it's roof (15,000 sq ft!), but the pictures aren't as dramatic.

Sandy has arrived

High winds have taken out the power at my house and my sister's apartment. Since we were both with out power I decided to go to her place. As I turned onto her block, the wind picked up,and this happened. I saw it fall in my rear view mirror. I had driven under it 5-10 seconds before hand.

After the near miss, we stayed at her place for awhile. Well, after a few hours of sitting in the dark we decided to roam around and see what was open / had power. Hopefully we could find a hotel with working amenities to take refuge. At first this was a big mistake. We saw power lines and other trees fall right in front of us. Route 25 from Smithtown to Coram was pretty much blacked out. Then, just as we were about to give up, we saw the big yellow sign with red letters casting a luminescent glow that made us cheer. See guys and gals, if you put in the effort then you can find a party anywhere:

No. The guy on the right is not wearing a wig. That's his real hair. I asked the hostess ;)

Halloweeny

We all know that the love for Halloween is a two way street:

1. It's an excuse for women to dress up in sexy / skimpy / slutty outfits because it's socially acceptable to be seen out in public that way this time of year.

2. As men we go out in public wearing costumes (that most of us purchased the day before) to ogle, meet, and spend time around these partially clothed women.

I've been spending time with all different types of people lately. A recent Lamebook post reminded me of how perspective can vary wildly: "If a girl has sex with a bunch of guys then she is considered a slut. If a guy has sex with a bunch of guys then he's a homosexual. Anyone else see the double standard?" Yes! I see the double standard!!! To level the playing field I offer the following: When gay men, dressed as women for Halloween, hook up with other men they should also be considered sluts!

 Erik is the above. Lose the goatee and I'd probably be fooled at first. Look at those legs!

Joey and David are in these two. Just as gay, but not nearly as attractive. Sorry guys, but it's the truth. Anyone who mistook either of you as women gets what he deserves... all party and no business if you know what I mean ;)

Giants win again

Sure it was close, but never forget who Dallas has at quarterback

I'm a dick?

We have no control over the challenges life gives us. What we can control is how we react to those challenges. At any point in time, we can change our attitude. The only thing that really changes in Narcotics Anonymous is us. The Twelve Steps give us the tools to move out of the problem and into the solution.

Yeah, that doesn't mean I'm never going to feel like shit though. How long I feel this way is up to me? Guess I'll find out. Experience has shown that it'll work out... regardless of what I want. Sniffz

Happy Thursday

I stole this from lamebook:

I have a problem with clutter. I keep almost everything. Want a few examples? Suuuurrreee: I have the boxes for 10 pairs of sneakers that I've purchased over the past 12 months. I have the box for my PS3. I'm going to keep the box for my MacBook Pro (with 16GB of RAM!). I have bags of clothes that I haven't worn for years, but I keep them because they're in good condition. I have a draw full of socks with holes in them that I could use to dust my furniture (yeah right). I have cans of vegetables one of us purchased at some point that I'll never eat (canned asparagus, blegh). I'm pretty sure that there is a tin full of saffron in my freezer (not a spice that I would ever think to cook with... oh yeah I don't cook). I have 2 half full boxes of pizza (one muslim friendly, the other not so much) in my fridge. I have draws full of receipts that I've never looked at. Old mail containing expired coupons. Textbooks that aren't mine. A closet with a shelf or two full of unloved stuffed animals (poor guys, they are jealous of G-Money). I could go on... the list seems to be endless.

Why do I keep all these things around? I don't know. Maybe it's because I've never had much of my own stuff and seeing these various things around the house makes me feel normal. Normal as in, "Yeah, people send me mail" and "See, I have arrived. Look at all the stuff that I've accumulated." Maybe it's because I'm unorganized and  prone to misplacing things...by not throwing out anything except absolute garbage I feel secure that I could find everything. There aren't any dead cats a la Hoarders, but there are a few petrified spiders. I know it's a bit bizarro.

As part of cleaning up my act, I've decided to shed some of the stuff. For the past 3 weekends, I have made a point to throw out a bag of these indiscriminately accumulated items. I couldn't really tell you what was in the 3 bags though. It's almost like I block out that the whole event ever happened. This weekend I'll be getting down to more meaningful things. Meaningful as in these things are probably worth money to someone somewhere or it's possible that maybe I could find a use for these things someday. I know that if I keep that mindset, they'll never go anywhere so I'll try to follow the motto in the above picture that started this whole post. Wish me luck, kids.

Muslim Friends

During the pre-game show for the Giant's game this past Sunday (10/21) I saw a commercial for Domino's pan pizza and I got a craving. I looked on the Domino's website and saw something called America's Favorite Pizza: Extra Cheese, Pepperoni, Sausage, and Mushrooms. It was very tempting, but it's Domino's so I decide to call a local pizza place instead. I ordered a medium pizza, well done, with all same toppings for about 50% more money than the Domino's price. 30 minutes later the pizza guy shows up and my pie looked delicious.

For illustrative purposes only. Not my pizza.

As I'm enjoying the first slice, my phone rings and it's Curtis (the barber). He asks me if I want to come over and watch the game. I explain that I'm eating a delicious pizza at the moment and he can come over to have some if he wants to hang out. He's down for some pizza goodness and says to expect him in about 20 min. I tell him to come on through and to be nice to the guard at the gate.

SIDE BAR::: Curtis has a problem with cops and most white people. I'm half Costa Rican, I've been an addict for most of my life, and I've lived in a few sober houses that were in bad areas (Crimedanch and Brenthood) so I get an honorary ghetto pass. :::SIDE BAR

About 5 minutes after we get off the phone I remember that Curtis is a practicing Muslim. He doesn't eat pork and my pizza is loaded with it ((pepperoni AND sausage). Shit! WTF am I going to do? What would you do? I decide to order another pizza. I call the restaurant back and the girl who answers the phone says, "Hello Mr. *********. Was there a problem with your order?"...(Fuckin' caller ID)... "Um, no. I... ah.... need to order another pizza though."... and then 15 min later the guard house calls, "Um sir, there's another pizza delivery here for you."... "Sigh. Yes, I know. Let him in." (I'm convinced that these people know I have a problem with portion control, lol).

And that's the whole story folks, 5 min, $50, and 2 pizzas later Curtis shows up and we're watching the Giant's game. I hid the original pizza in the fridge so I didn't have to explain everything to him because I felt retarded about the whole ordeal. I have enough pizza left over for a week of dinners and I doubt I'll order another one for like a year for fear that I'll die from embarrassment.

Baby Factoid

Some of these Snapple Factoids are suspect. What this should have
said was, "More babies are conceived at night than during the day."
Ohhhh man! Foe shiz.

Plagiarism

Goodnight Little One. God's blessings may come as a surprise but how much you receive depends on how much your heart believes that everything will work out for the best! It's not always what we thought we wanted, but it will always be more than we could ever have needed. May you be blessed beyond your expectations. - plagiarized and paraphrased

Holy Cow!

Woowww! Google got slammed today when they
missed their earnings targets. Trading of the stock
was suspended due to the huge drop in such a short
period of time.

It starts with me

Sometimes it seems as though there is so much wrong with the world that we might as well forget trying to make a difference. "After all," we think, "what in the world can I do? I'm just one person." Whether our concerns are so broad that we desire global peace or so personal that we simply want recovery made available to every addict who wants it, the task seems overwhelming. "So much work to do, so little time," we sigh, sometimes wondering how we'll ever do any good.


Amazingly enough, the smallest contributions can make the biggest difference. To gain more from life than an ordinary, plodding existence requires very little effort on our parts. We ourselves are transformed by the deep satisfaction we experience when we lift the spirits of just one person. When we smile at someone who is frowning, when we let someone in front of us on the freeway, when we call a newcomer just to say we care, we enter the realm of the extraordinary.

Want to change the world? Start with the addict sitting next to you tonight, and then imagine your act of kindness multiplied. One person at a time, each one of us makes a difference.

An increase of $3.89 billion per day? The numbers are so insane that we either dismiss them as exaggeration or insurmountable. Just like the problems in my life, this will not go away when ignored. I agree to pay more and that means that we all need to live with less. This country is only 236 years old. At an increase of $3.89 billion per day does any rational person honestly believe that the overall standard of living can be sustained?

Oh crap

And yet he pressed on for the remainder of the debate.
What a trooper... YOLO!

Clean up your act

My sister and I are making appointments to have work
done by the dentist. Let's hope our dentist has the same
road side manner as this fellow. I'm stoked!

 

P.S. special thanks to Adam X for the recommendation. 

It's crazy how I (and other people I've known) will 

neglect health problems. I've had a broken tooth on the

right side of my mouth for a few years. About 2/3's of the

tooth is gone now and I haven't been able to chew out

of the right side of my mouth for over 18 months. Yes, 

it's weird and should've been taken care of a long time

ago, but I'm scared of a long procedure, the cost of

multiple visits, and possible pain management. No sweet 

gas for me so unlike Panthea, I doubt I'll come out of this 

saying, "it was awesome."

EDIT: Joe Biden knows the value of proper

oral hygiene and lots of vitamin D

 

2112

I have 2112 days clean today. :shrugs::

That's all... just sayin'

I wink like this... usually with out the finger pointing... one eye closed and the other eye half closed. It's a genetic defect that I've tried to overcome through the years with little results. I can't roll my tongue, lift an eyebrow, or wiggle my ears. I have normal toes, instead of the dreaded long second toe. I'm not double jointed or especially flexible. There is nothing genetically progressive about me at all. Sigh. I'll never be a super hero.

Call me pimp homocide lol

As most of my friends are aware, if I’m calling you then I’m probably in the car. Last night I was speaking to someone while on my way home and made a pit stop at a fast food place to grab something to eat. I decided to pull into a parking spot before ordering rather than interrupt the conversation (My friend’s cat was killed by a car). A few minutes after I parked another car pulls in next to me with the radio playing salsa music (or something). Were these the cat killers? I don’t know. Anyway, their music was louder than it should’ve been when you're parked next to someone so I rolled up my windows and continued talking.

I’ll never know why for sure, but their music got louder shortly after I rolled up my windows. I’m guessing that the guys in the car noticed I rolled everything up and wanted to be jerks. Well kids, they picked the wrong guy… in the wrong car. I tell my friend that I’ll call him back in 5 minutes. I load up Shot Caller by French Montana, set everything the way I want it, let the intro play, roll down the windows and turn it up… all the way up. I completely drown out the salsa. Then I look down into their car and wait. As soon as I saw someone in their car touch the radio I immediately lowered mine and yelled “Lower the fuckin’ radio!” 

 

They rolled up their windows and left. Owned.

 

Then I ordered food and called my friend back about the cat. I'm good like that ;)