After the earthquake comes the…hurricane? Seriously?? Is that really necessary?
I had this other post to write today, but I got distracted by the hurricane that’s supposed to hit the city really soon. I mean, seriously? I just survived an earthquake. What is this crap? It’s starting to feel a little apocalyptic out there. So I’m writing another natural disaster post. Back to body image and stuff soon. If I’m still around in a few days.
I am trying to decide how worried I am.
We’re in Zone C, which is the “yeah, you’ll get hit a little, but you’ll probably be OK” zone. The other two, scarier, zones are one and two blocks away. The scariest contains my favorite park. No visiting parks during the hurricane. Mental note.
I am not scared enough. I’m sick today, and don’t feel like going to the store to get emergency rations. Which is stupid. I think of my ancestors in Nazi Germany, who were like, “Whatever. This will all blow over. Why would they want to kill us?” And then I think, “Why does everything make you think of the Holocaust?” And then I feel like if other people could hear me thinking, they’d think, “Jews are always talking about the Holocaust.” And then I wonder why my brain takes everything at least three steps too far.
Nazis are different than hurricanes. There.
(source)
I realize I am bad at figuring out what food I should get. Tuna. Water. Water isn’t a food. But I still should get it.
This is the problem with diabetics and natural disasters: they can’t eat any of the nonperishable survival food. Not even beans. I mean, I guess Bear can eat beans and just take a bunch of insulin, while the power is out and bands of scavenging looters are bashing in windows and violently thieving. But then what if his insulin runs out? If there’s no power, then we can’t keep his reserve insulin cool, and then it’ll go bad. And then he’ll die, in my arms. Pointlessly. Because we couldn’t decide whether or not we should go stay with my parents, on higher, suburban ground, and so we stayed out of laziness.
Remember the alien invasion my brain produced during the earthquake? See how much worse this is?
I am beginning to wish we had a boat. Just a little one. That we could keep in our living room.
But mostly, I just don’t believe this hurricane is going to be a huge deal. I mean, come on, it’s New York City! But then, they are shutting down the subways. That’s a bad sign.
* * *
Unroast: Today I love that I haven’t even looked in the mirror.
P.S. Does anyone know why they always have these normal-sounding names? Y’know, rather than “DOOM BRINGER” or something. Who gets to name them?
Kate on August 26th 2011 in Uncategorized
Emmi responded on 26 Aug 2011 at 5:51 pm #
This post was so excellently funny that I read it out loud to my husband, who is *still* giggling. Bravo!
I am fairly sure we will all be fine. It’s just this anticipation. It sucks.
justmama responded on 26 Aug 2011 at 7:27 pm #
Great post! While it’s funny, I really understand your concern.
Will be praying for your safety. Looking forward to your “hurricane survival” post! Stay safe.
Lili @ Relatable Style responded on 26 Aug 2011 at 7:34 pm #
Hey, I hope everything goes well with Irene! It really is strange, first the earthquake and then a hurricane, you must feel like it’s 2012 already! Even I thought it, almost halfway around the world. I think they are shutting down the subway because of potential high water. We had high water due to heavy rain quite often in the last years and it really blocks everything. I imagine it to be dangerous too if people come into the subway stations with all that water… Besides, doesn’t the subway have that third rail? I imagine that to be quite unhealthy, third rail + water + humans 😉
About everything reminding you of the Holocaust, you are not alone. It’s everyone that has ties to this in some way (probably, at least it’s you and me)… To me, it’s always the big elephant in the room that I feel I as a German need to address. Sure, I had nothing to do with this, and neither did my parents. I asked sometimes, and heard an uncle of my grandma was in the SS. Apart from that, I haven’t heard of anyone in my family that had joined the Nazis, but what do I know. They are long dead and I never knew them. And maybe if I had known them they would not have admitted it. And I guess there were some in my extended family that were NSDAP members, just statistically. I don’t even really have a point here I think ^^ What you write just spoke to me in some way, as it’s not only the Jews that “always think about the Holocaust” it’s the Germans, too. (And sometimes I even think it is everyone, Jew, German, or everything else. Also, of course it’s a prejudice, but it does hold some truth. On my side, at least ^^) I don’t know… I guess talking about my country’s dark past always strikes a chord with me. I only recently learned to like my country and I’m always happy when people refer to it in a way that is not connected with our horrible collective past. I might have to ask myself why I myself can’t let it go then. Maybe because we’re all taught not to let go of it under any circumstances, which is a good thing for the whole society and a rather miserable thing for the individual at times 😉 Anyway, maybe it is just remarkable to me how similar the thoughts of the descendants seem to become – both of those who suffered and those who regret.
Relatable Style
Spelling responded on 26 Aug 2011 at 9:37 pm #
I think you’ll be okay. Having lived in a predicted hurricane disaster zone many times, and then having nothing happen, you should be just fine. Don’t worry!
Besides, you can’t get swept away. I don’t know what we’d do without you! 😀
Benjamin responded on 26 Aug 2011 at 10:01 pm #
The people who name the hurricanes are INCREDIBLY lazy. They just kinda go through the alphabet to name them. I think they flip a coin to decide on a male or female name. They may or may not be stationed in Florida, but what do I know?
Kate responded on 26 Aug 2011 at 10:42 pm #
As a Floridian, I can tell you it probably won’t be that bad. You should get food and water and booze and fill up your bathtub though.
As a Floridian (round 2), I’ve also probably thought too much about hurricane names. They are always very generic and bland, although in the past few years they have added some more ‘exotic’ names. I’d like to think this is because we are getting more inclusive as a society, but it is probably because they have retired all the easy white people names. (very severe hurricanes have their names retired…we’ll never see another Andrew or Katrina.)
Liz responded on 26 Aug 2011 at 11:16 pm #
Kate,
Be safe!!
Kate the Floridian ~ You are hilarious! I like the booze part. LOL. 😉
Stephanie responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 1:11 am #
First of all, STAY SAFE!!
Second, so I don’t claim to be a doc or anything, but I have a type 1 diabetic for a husband, too. And he didn’t refrigerate his insulin (at all!) until about a year ago. He’s been diabetic for 11 years!
So maybe it won’t go bad, as long as it’s not over 30 days or something?
poet responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 3:32 am #
Oh my, this is terrible. I wish you (and all of NYC!) the best of luck in getting through this.
Also, about having a brain that takes everything three steps too far, I know that feeling. I think that ultimately it’s a good thing to have. Possibly advantageous for survival in austere situations, too.
Be safe!
-poet
L responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 7:22 am #
I saw on the news this morning ( i live in england by the way, so none of this has had any effect on life here whatsowever) that they were saying NYC should be evacuated, and i honestly thought of you> Just so you know that whenever anything about New York is mentioned in the british media, you have my thoughts 🙂
Lynn responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 9:41 am #
*vibes of safety*
Kate responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 12:22 pm #
@Stephanie
Really? Well, that is definitely comforting. Bear will live to experience the next natural disaster!
Kate responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 12:23 pm #
@Spelling and L
You guys make me feel really special. Seriously, I grinned like an idiot after both comments.
Kate responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 12:24 pm #
@L
Also, not at all related, but for some reason, the only TV I’ve been watching recently has been British.
Kate responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 12:25 pm #
@Ben and Kate
LOL!! We need to start a new hurricane naming committee. Maybe it should be democratic, actually. People from all over the country can vote.
Beauzeaux responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 12:50 pm #
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml
Huricane names. Actuall pretty interesting. Might kep your mind off the actual huuricane.
I was in NYC during Hurricane Gloria in 1985. It was scary and fun at the same time. Don’t buy extra food. Water maybe. NOTHING shuts NYC down for more than a couple of days.
exmish responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 1:24 pm #
I have to disagree with “nothing shuts down NYC for more than a couple of days”…. I’m sure New Orleans felt the same way.
Better safe than sorry! If you get extra food and don’t need it, no big deal. If you don’t get it, and then you need it….you’re kind of screwed or at the mercy of your neighbors, who may or may not be prepared either.
Really, though, if it’s no big hardship, maybe going out to higher-ground suburbia is a good idea. 🙂
B responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 2:24 pm #
Maybe something like this could work for cooling without power: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1108343/Amazing-solar-powered-fridge-invented-British-student-potting-shed-helps-poverty-stricken-Africans.html
It looks like you could fit medicine inside it. I believe the ancient world also did a similar method with two ceramic pots inside each other, with a layer of water-soaked sand in between the two.
Or maybe just a well-insulated ice-packed cooler?
Mary responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 6:41 pm #
This post totally cracks me up. The Nazi thing… oh god. You are hilarious.
Not that you asked for my advice, but here is some hurricane advice because I grew up in Louisiana and feel entitled to dole out advice like I know something (I don’t). We had lots of misses and lots of heavy rain. I now live in Maryland, and we’re getting lots of heavy rain. I’m going to start drinking soon. I have some books in case I can’t waste the rest of my weekend on the internet. I bought some non-perishable foods.
Also, my husband is diabetic too, and he uses an insulin pump. We’ve had his insulin un-refrigerated before. It doesn’t go bad immediately. If you lose power, try to keep it cool, but there’s no need to panic.
Enjoy the storm. These things can be fun. 🙂
Brigid responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 7:21 pm #
I live in DC, where we are actually less in Irene’s path than NYC is, but where we now have a tropical storm warning and a flash flood warning, and I’ve been receiving conflicted messages about whether I need to stay away from windows and how much of [insert basic supply here] I need to have on hand in case of the apocalypse.
When I saw that you had written a post about the hurricane, I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew whatever you had to say about it would make sense to me, and I was not disappointed.
I am trying to decide how worried I am.
That’s me exactly. I have never experienced a hurricane before, and I go back and forth between being sure I should be more worried and feeling stupid for worrying too much. So, whatever happens, I’m … glad we’re all in this together? Sort of?
Kate responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 8:28 pm #
@Brigid
Exactly, we’re in this together!
I feel a little hardcore, being here, with the sandbags outside all the buildings in my neighborhood. Bear and I got back from the gym a couple minutes ago. It was raining, but nothing impressive. Yet? We’ll see. It still doesn’t feel like much is going to happen. But that might be me not understanding things.
Kate responded on 27 Aug 2011 at 8:30 pm #
Also, I love how many women who read this blog also have diabetic husbands!
@Mary
Bear is on the pump, too. The insulin in it will last a while, but the rest is in the fridge. And it’ll totally be fine. It would only be a problem if we lost power for a LONG time. Which is where my mind goes when I’m being dramatic, but is probably unlikely in reality 🙂
Beauzeaux responded on 28 Aug 2011 at 3:26 pm #
“I have to disagree with “nothing shuts down NYC for more than a couple of days”…. I’m sure New Orleans felt the same way.”
Not really comparable. Katrina was a category 5 hurricane. Irene was never higher than 2 when it hit the coast. Down to 1 by the time it got to D.C.
A category 5 would be almost impossible as far north as NY but if it did it would be time to move WELL inland.
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