Better late than never, but in the flurry of NaNoWriMo I forgot all about this draft! Here’s a short hurricane story with a happy ending, told with twitter and pictures and adjusted to be read from top to bottom like normal english-speaking nations! I got super lucky with the hurricane, so I was able to be cheeky about it in between checking in on my NJ family (who also got lucky enough, all things considered).
October24
@fissionerror: Speaking of emergency preparedness i also have to go get some food fortifications because NJ family is all “HURRICANE.” @fissionerror: Class canceled at Arcadia, Temple, UPenn, WCU. Brian is wondering if he’ll have work; I’m wondering if we’ll have oceanfront property. @fissionerror: Keswick theater prepped for storm. As long as there’s Internet, twitter trumps TV news. #sandyinphilly #hurricanesandy
Keswick Theater ready to go.
@fissionerror: Venture Bros Halloween special, so fuck you you bitch ass hurricane (please don’t hurt me).
@fissionerror: @taramurtha only 47% of the country is expecting weather now anyway, so to hell with them. #MittStormTips @fissionerror: By the time we got to storm prep it was Sunday and the liquor store was closed. Dusty bottle of Tia Maria, your time has come at last… @fissionerror: Seriously I hope our liquor cabinet dregs are good in coffee because breakfast ain’t gonna drunk itself. #hammeredtime @fissionerror:Still watching live video from Point Pleasant, NJ and boy has the view changed. I wish I was taking periodic screencaps. #hurricanesandy @fissionerror: Point Pleasant live feed now pinwheeling and perhaps not live anymore. Time to call my dad, I guess. @fissionerror:Power’s out. Cats are keeping calm + carrying on, by which I mean they think lights out = dinner as usual, and why am I sitting in the dark?
The blanket fort was very effective.
@fissionerror: Our emergency flashlight literally has the power of one candle, and it’s one of the wall-plug ones. @fissionerror: Foraging has yielded the dregs of cake- and espresso-flavored vodka. Also this irresponsible cellphone usage.
Partying like it’s 1799!
@fissionerror: This kinetic/solar LED flashlight is pretty much the best thing ever. Sorry for all the tweets about my flashlights. #firstworldproblems @fissionerror: Back yard maple just shat a 10′ branch. Seems to have landed between us and neighbors, harming nothing we could see in dark. #winning @fissionerror: Hour 12 with no power. So far I’ve narrowly avoided going feral, though with cell battery down to 40%, how long will I last?
@fissionerror: Ten minute lines for coffee @wawa for the half of Glenside with no power. Employees astoundingly nice. #sandyinphilly
Everyone was surprisingly orderly, given none of these people had had caffeine yet.
@fissionerror: Having city water and gas water heater means HOT BATH. Growing up with well water, this is a pleasure I never anticipated in a power outage.
@fissionerror: OTOH, house is freezing; torture be damned, my kingdom for those tub cover devices from American Horror Story, or a deeper tub…
@fissionerror: To combat the cold, my cats are ignoring the blanket igloo I made them and hurling each other into walls. Really destroying my serene bath.
@fissionerror: THANK YOU. RT “@philly311 pls remind people, when approaching an intersection where lights are out, treat it as a 4 way stop.”
@fissionerror: Our PECO bill is going to be so low from all this no power we’re using! #sandyinphilly #glasshalffull
@fissionerror: After a long drive around the neighborhood trying to assess the source of our partying like it’s 1799, found several downed trees + poles.
A relieving lack of devastation.
@fissionerror: Settled in at the only bar able to offer beer, pizza and devastating storm coverage at 3:30. Thanks, Jerzees.
@fissionerror: This frosted berry jar candle is full of warmth and light, both things my house is otherwise lacking. @fissionerror: In a state if emergency NEVER DO YOU EVER need to go to a craft store.
@fissionerror: 24hrs, still without power. PECO says more than 50k affected in Montco. Had a fun time guessing which old phone # was linked to our account. @fissionerror: I’m getting tired of reading by flashlight. It’s not as exciting as when I was a kid and my mom told me not to. @fissionerror: Just finished my book. 30% battery life on phone. No end in sight. I’m freaking out, man. @fissionerror: New game. What household items fit in my lip rings? Pens. Knitting needles. Cigarette. Carabiner. This is getting dangerous.@fissionerror: Just had to google “witch hut chicken leg” to end an argument. This is not responsible emergency phone use. At 18% battery and falling… @fissionerror: Beginning to miss life’s simple pleasures like using the toilet with the lights on. 36 hours. @fissionerror: Dear neighbors, how much does it cost to run that generator for 36 hours? And what’s so important? Are you powering an iron lung in there? @fissionerror: Dear PECO, I have electric again. Thanks for all your hard work.