Day 74 - Happy Halloween

I had another day off work today, so just caught up on Uni work a bit more. Fun.

To celebrate Halloween we went to our favourite Wednesday hang out - Rathbones. Although I didn't dress up, I did my hardest to cover myself in wing sauce for the same effect. Messy!

Although gluttony is not an attractive trait nor impressive, I did excel myself and manage 30 wings! Let the food coma commence...

Day 73 - The morning after the night before

As people are waking up to the hangover of Hurricane Sandy, I ventured out to have a look at what damage had been caused.

100th Street between FDR and 1st seemed to have taken the brunt of it. Cars are scattered in the middle of the road as if they were matchbox size. They are filled to the brim with branches, garbage and whatever else Sandy felt like putting in their trunks!

I walked to the car lot that was on 98th and there was one customer shouting at, well I can only presume was the owner, that they should have done more to protect their cars... I couldn't help but disagree! Ignoramus.

100th St 1st Av. 

100th St 1st Av.

100th St 1st Av.

100th St 1st Av.

The owners of this car had the car park staff emptying water out of their car with cups... 

Con Edison trying to restore power to the worst hit places. 

New tree sculpture.

The Shell garage effectively turned into a waste bin, collecting a lot of the debris. 

100th St between 1st and FDR. Crazy to think that this was under water last night 

The corner buildings basement this morning.

Day 72 - Hurricane Sandy... Got real!

No work today so I didn't really get up to too much. I did watch an abundance of coverage on my new worst friend, Sandy. I did think that at one point I would be doing film reviews!

This was until 7pm tonight! Water started surging over the FDR and towards 1st avenue. I am going to keep updating this post at different time intervals;

19:30 - Water reaches 100th street and 1st and is covering the wheels of cars.

21:00 - Water starts filling the basements of the corner buildings at 100th street between 1st and 2nd avenue. It's up to knee hight.

22:00 - Water reaches the road outside my flat and is going into the basement of the apartment next door. The corner basement's door has been destroyed by the power of the water.

23:00 - The water has started to go back out with the tide. The building next door has lost power but as it stands we are still ok.

19:30 - 100th St between FDR and 1st.

19:30 - 1st Avenue

19:30 - The fire service are following the water surge up 1st avenue to evacuate people from their buildings if needs be.  Good effort!

19:30 - On the move again! 

19:30 - 100th St 1st Av.

19:30 - 100th St 1st Av.

Question: Do the owners of the submerged cars that are in a mandatory evacuation zone get an insurance payout, when they have already been told to leave? I am curious.

21:00 - The corner building basement. 100th St and 1st Av.

21:00 - The corner building basement. 100th St and 1st Av.

22:00 - Corner buildings, basement door is crushed by the force of the water. 100th Street 1st Av.

22:00 - The corner building basement. 100th St and 1st Av. Water is flowing in from all angles.

22:00 - Water has reached the road outside the front of my flat.

23:00 - Water has started to retreat down my street.

Day 71 - Hurricane Sandy

I am about to experience my first hurricane. All public transport has been suspended until late on Tuesday (only the second time in NY history) and the NYC stock exchange is closing its doors to do everything electronically. They have also been evacuating the areas that they expect to be worst hit.

I am in Zone B so do not have to evacuate. Just! I live on 100th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. Check out the map. I wonder if Sandy follows these guidelines and doesn't venture as far as my house?

Work has said that I should not go in until Wednesday, meaning that I will be able to experience it from the comfort of my own home. Hopefully!

Day 70 - Macy's

With Hurricane Sandy round the corner, I went out to buy a few supplies. Having not been to Macy's yet I thought it would be an appropriate time.

I decided to walk it so that I could see as much as possible along the way!

Day 69 - House Decorations

If this is how people decorate their houses for Halloween, I can not wait for Christmas!

Day 68 - Spooky Carriage

I stayed on till the last stop and for the first time since I arrived, I was the only person left on!

This is such a contrast compared to my morning commutes. If I can even fit onto the carriage I have done well.

Day 67 - Harlem View

My view down Lexington Avenue from 125th Street station, certainly does freshen me up first thing in the morning.

Day 66 - Halloween Prep

It's becoming evident that Halloween is taken very seriously out here. The shop at the office has added to its already vast supply of candy. I now have no excuse for when my managers children come to the office next week for the annual office trick or treat!

Day 65 - The first of many

The day has come for my first assignment to be handed in. From here on now, I have a steady 3000 word assignment and exam every month until I leave. Game on!

Day 64 - Grub Fest & Coney Island

I started the morning of by visiting the NY Grub Fest on the Lower East Side. There was a variety of deli's and restaurants selling all types of food. One of the stalls was selling a squid burger that included tentacles hanging outside of the bun! BLURGH!

Afterwards, I went on the hour long commute to Coney Island with the intentions of going to the horrorfest. ALWAYS READ THE SMALL PRINT ALEX! This was an evening event not a day event.

Not to worry, I still made the most of my time there. Going on all the big rides, eating a Nathan's hotdog and winning two cuddly toys on the plate smash and water shoot! Oh and a TaZmanian devil magnet for getting 20,000 points. No biggie!

As a comparison, it is like Skegness with more rides and a much nicer beach. Really looking forward to going there in the summer. Especially for the hot dog eating competition. The current champion's record is 68. SIXTY EIGHT!

Day 63 - New York RedBulls

I ventured to Harrison, NJ to watch the NY Red Bulls today against Sporting Kansas. I am not a football expert in the slightest but I can definitely make the statement that this was not the premier league!

The game finished 0-0. Thierry Henry got a yellow card. Thierry Henry had a tantrum. I got neck ache from watching the ball in the air so much. Game over.