Post Sandy.

Cover/ Pic of NY Mag.

We are so glad to be home in the wake of Sandy.

Sandy has been a huge testament that Mother Nature really rules, whether you believe it or not. Being inland and in high density Manhattan, we are so, so lucky have escaped her fury. The worst that happened was power and then water going out (and even that was a first for the sheltered, spoilt Singaporean in me!). Our apartment, building, street then whole of downtown plunged into darkness. It was scary. But thankfully, we were prepared as Con Ed called a couple of hours earlier to prep us, though the real reason for the sudden outage was because, the power plant that powers downtown exploded in the storm when water gushed over the walls..... 

The next morning, water and cell phone reception went out and that was when it all started to go downhill. Our apartment was unlivable. I couldn't pee without washing my hands. Couldn't brush my teeth. We emptied the refrigerator and thew food out. We had to literally stand in the corner of our block by the main road, next to the traffic light for cell signal. Up and down the stairs, for two days. With a torch, cos our corridor and stairwell had no light.

Nothing could keep New Yorkers indoors, so the street was teeming with life. People were walking around aimlessly cos they had nowhere to go. Some stood in line for the payphone to let their loved ones know they were ok. People took their coffee mugs out, cos the cafes were closed. When darkness came, the flashlights came out. You couldn't see people, but signs of live were evident by the flashes of light. It was pretty spooky.

City of darkness

So we decided to move. Our friends were in Williamsburg were so kind to take us in. As it turned out, life in most parts of Brooklyn and uptown Manhattan from 40th onwards was business as usual. Those parts of New York were unscathed. Life was buzzing in W'burg and I heard traffic was really bad in midtown because all the downtowners were trekking there for power, food and water.

Boys and Art Night.

We came home last night upon hearing confirmation that power was restored. Unsurprisingly, there is flurry now for fresh food and gas in the city. I still have my doubts how "fresh" the food is given there was absolutely zero power.

I got to admit this has been quite an eye-opening experience for me. The worse we ever had back home was a gusty rain storm, that's about it. I am so thankful we lived through it and this is another lesson learnt for all of us not to take things for granted.

More pics here. Looking at these pics just made us realised how close we were to have our lives take a different turn.. Just a few mere blocks. We are really grateful. Our heart goes out to those who are picking up the pieces now.. xo