It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Home, sweet home :)

After working 60 hours each of the last 2 weeks, I am finally home and ready for a break! In typical fashion, I took a Greyhound last night at 11 out of New York, expecting to arrive in Columbus at 11 this morning. Well the bus that I was transferring to in Pittsburgh was running late, it was also coming from New York but was supposed to leave an hour before us and hadn't left when we did... After a 2 1/2 hour delay in Pittsburgh we were on our way again!

I was able to sleep on and off during the trip and was amazed that every time I opened my eyes, the scenery was more an more white! It was in the low 40's in New York and the more east I got the worse the weather became! I got in around 1:45, two hours and 40 minutes later than anticipated, and was happily reunited with my family :)

On the way home the roads were bad and the snow continued to fall and blow. Right in front of us, a man in a 4-wheel Dodge slide into a deep ditch. We pulled over and helped him get a tow and were reminded to drive slow and be wary. We passed another car being pulled out of a ditch on our own road later.

Once we were home, we were ready to settle in for the evening and enjoy being together again. I'm very excited to have this break from work and stress (hopefully) while taking care of a few things I need to do here. But most of all, I'm thrilled to be back with my family and ready to pick up on all our Christmas traditions and make new ones. It finally feels like Christmas to me :)

Munchkins on the Counter Make My Day

Back to work today! Buses were "partially running," what that meant exactly I wasn't sure but I set out at 9:45 to catch the 10:01 BxM4 Xpress bus into Midtown, hoping to make it to work by 12. There were other people at the bus stop which I saw as promising and took to mean that they probably knew the bus was indeed running. They did not actually know this, I found. Everyone was on the same page, not knowing for sure when or even if this bus was coming. And it didn't, not the 10:01 AM bus at least. Around 10:30 we saw a BxM4 driving in the opposite direction, towards Yonkers instead of Manhattan. We all grew hopeful then, knowing that the bus was at least running! 

It was interesting to see the little community that built as we all waited. A British man helped out a dog walker by informing him that the buses honestly were free today and that he didn't need to keep counting that pile of change and making sure he had $5. The dog walker then opened up to him about his latest bout of struggles and how everything happens at once. An Irish couple "here for a fortnight" nervously joked with anyone who talked to them that yes, this was the stop for the BxM4... if it ever showed up.

Finally, the bus did show up! We saw it there on the horizon, squinted to see the numbers, and all exclaimed with joy (no really, we did) when, at last!, they were the combination of numbers and letters we were all hoping for. We all piled in at about 11:20, happy to get out of the cold and be on our way. We even all got seats! 

It was about a 2 hour bus ride, hitting bad traffic once we got into Harlem. I enjoyed being above ground the whole time and seeing the sites of the route I usually am traveling underneath. Surprisingly, I didn't see a whole lot of destruction, not as much as I thought I'd see at least. There were some trees down and some caution tape and some windows/storefronts were boarded up. I suppose everything along the road had been cleaned up though, so the buses could actually run, understandable. 

I got to work around 1:10 and found only a handful of people in the office. There's probably 35-40 people who work there and today there were maybe 12 of us. There were also Munchkins sitting on the kitchen counter.... as in donut holes from Dunkin Donuts :) They seemed to be fall flavors (like pumpkin!) and they honestly made me feel that going into the office was worth it. 

It was a pretty good day at the office too. With so few people it seemed like I got to chat with more people. I also got to create the flier for an upcoming pubcrawl which makes me feel like a real designer! 

Getting home was another experience. I decided to take the same bus as in the morning so that I didn't have to make any transfers. I left work a half hour early in order to catch the 7:55 bus. Wellllll, just like the morning version, it did not come. Once again there was a little community built as a group of us waited for the bus to arrive. A man told us how he was glad that the bus was free today because $5.50! He could easily buy some rolling paper and weed to fill it with for that money. A guy from Peurto Rico told me about his first experience with a hurricane and how the sky had turned red. I also noticed the oddity of looking to my left and seeing the city full of light while to my left side the only lights were headlights, the lower many streets still being without power.

It was pretty chilly, mostly due to the wind and, once again, it was a long wait for the bus. Another hour and 20 minutes, actually. The trip home was shorter, thanks to less traffic. Plus, when I arrived I found a lovely package of popcorn and goodies waiting for me! (Thank you Grandma!!)

Overall a successful day! I'm very happy that the subways are open (at least the trains and stations that I use) tomorrow! The bus might be a nice change every once in awhile but I don't understand it well enough (and neither does ANY other New Yorker) to have the stress of HAVING to use it. 

Survived the Hurricane

Hi All!

I had another relaxing day at home today--I drank lots of homemade hot apple cider and fixed my Cablevision box (now I can change channels again!). The rain had stopped by the afternoon and my electricity never went out!

I still haven't gone outside and really seen the damage, but I'll be going in to WeSell tomorrow so I'll have more to report then.

Figuring out how to get to work was a little stressful. The subways are still shut down and will be for a few days yet. The buses are partially running and cabs are in full force, making a killing I'm sure. Around 9:30 tonight I found out that the buses should be in full service tomorrow, which was a huge relief since a taxi would cost about $100 round trip since I'm so far from Midtown. So for the second time since I've been in NYC I'll be taking a bus!

I'm a little nervous as I'm sure it will be packed and, like I said I'm not used to taking buses... But it will be fun to be above ground the whole time and I'll get to see the city as I go, what's left of it. A new adventure!

Hurricane Day

Well Hurricane Sandy aka Frankenstorm is blasting through NYC.

I have to admit, I was a little excited to witness a hurricane, especially one that was getting this much hype! I've always lived inland and hurricanes were never an issue, although the tornadoes I was in Kansas for were pretty exciting. So my first hurricane being a "hybrid" storm-- hurricane mixing with a winter storm front from the west and coming in at high tide on a full moon-- seemed like a pretty big deal!

I worked at Hill Country yesterday. I was the opening host and we ended up closing early (at 5) so I did all the closing work too. There was so much electricity in the air as we all rushed to get the place closed and get everyone home before the subways shut down at 7. 

Today the storm rolled in. I awoke to the sound of rain and wind, the wind getting worse as the day went on. I've been fortunate enough not to lose power or to have any flooding (something I was warned my ground-level apartment was prone to doing). With the subways being shut down, most of New York is too. Even the New York Stock Exchange closed for today and tomorrow, the first unplanned closing since 9/11.

Since I didn't have any hindrances, today was just a nice day off from work! (Well the buttons on my Cablevision box did stop working and since my remote has never really worked my tv is now stuck on Starz, which so far hasn't been too bad.) And hopefully tomorrow will be another nice break (praying that the electricity stays on all day!)

It was so nice to sleep in this morning and have a day where I had to stay home and mostly just relax! I like to wake up slow in the mornings. And make myself something delicious for breakfast of course :) In my quest for more mug recipes I found this recipe for French Toast in a Mug and thought it would be a perfect Hurricane Day breakfast (ok, brunch if we're talking time of day).

I made it for the first time a couple days ago and was impressed! Last time (when these pics were taken), I was fancy and used bread from a mini baguette I had gotten at the grocery but today I used regular bread slices and it was just as delicious!

Mug French Toast

1/2 Tablespoon butter

2 slices bread

1 egg

3 Tablespoons milk

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Few drops vanilla

Melt the butter in a large mug and tilt the mug so that the butter coats the sides. Rip or cut the bread into cubes and drop them into the mug, filling it up. In a bowl, beat the egg, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla together. Pour the liquid mixture over the bread, coating all of the topmost pieces.

Microwave for 1-2 minutes or until the egg is set (most of the egginess will settle in the bottom so pull the bread away from the sides to check that the eggs are no longer liquid-y in the bottom of the mug.) Top with syrup and enjoy!

I'd be interested in adding syrup to the egg mixture to get a maple flavor "baked" into the toast... Also in mixing peanut butter with the syrup as I love peanut butter on my French toast!