Damn...it's shifted and supposed to go up through the city again...

Well that was short-lived. Now my blood-pressure is back up again. Is it wrong to resent people who aren't stuck at work and can go shopping, etc now? Sigh.
Don't answer that question.

According to co-worker: Bloomberg has apparently just ordered a mandatory evacuation of "the evacuation zones" in all five buroughs - the eye of the storm has shifted and it is now expected to go up through the city.

Oh and they are shutting down all mass transit, including buses, trains, and subways by 12 noon Saturday. All permits for recreational activities have been revoked.

Damn.

First thing tonight - rush home, grab grocery cart and go shopping up and down my block. I feel so un-prepared for this, and somewhat silly.

Damn Hurricane is Stressful...

Spent all day at work fretting about not finding stuff I needed from the stores, after work, due to the stores being raided by the people who didn't have to work today. Really should have bought this stuff earlier in the week. I swear, I think I've made ten trips to the stores. And I still can't find certain things, very weird things...such as "masking tape".

( the run on Masking Tape )

( shopping )

Momster called twice - she's worried. (And being the Momster, has managed to come up with things each day that I desperately need and have not thought about getting, which is not helping with my stress level.) Should point out she's not about herself. All they got in Hilton Head was a smattering of rain. No, she's worried about me. The news is terrifying her. Small wonder. Governor Cumo ordered the shut-down of all mass transit by 12 noon on Saturday. That is historic. That has never happened. They've never shut it down completely. Going to be a bloody chore starting it back up again. And by mass transit - I mean buses, subways, and trains - all of it. Bloomberg, not to be outdone by the Governor, and not willing to take any chances, ordered the evacuation of all hospitals in low-lying areas today, as well as the mandatory evacuation of all low lying areas in all five burroughs (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island) by 12 noon on Saturday. (I don't live in an evacuation zone - but I do live within shooting distance of them - which means I'll get a perfect view of the storm surge outside my window, lucky me.) That also has NEVER happened. He's just ordered the mandatory evacuation of 250,000 people. Mind-boggling, ain't it? Also a bit worrying. They haven't been evacuated all that far - just to the non-evacuation zones. Which are about to get VERY crowded.

If you go here -http://project.wnyc.org/news-maps/hurricane-zones/hurricane-zones.html, you can see the zones for yourself. I'm on 3rd Street between Hoyt and Smith in Carroll Gardens. The Green Zone is behind my apartment, the orange (low-lying) and yellow zones are next door. Basically I'm in a white zone that seats literally next to the mandatory evacuation area, and the zones after it.
Another way of explaining this..I'm on third street one door down from Hoyt, Hoyt is all yellow, 4th street and Hoyt is in orange (this is the mandatory evacuation area), 4th Street and Third - basically my backyard is in green - this non-mandatory and only dangerous with Category 3 hurricanes, Third and Hoyt is in Yellow (this is only mandatory with Category 2). So you figure it out? Do you think I'm in trouble? I honestly can't tell. All I know for certain is I'm not in the mandatory evacuation zone but everywhere directly south of me is or as far as I can see out my back windows. Is this worrying? Oh yeah.

Not that scared of the actual storm - they tend to not last that long. More scared of the after-math, which is likely to be a huge mess, work and life wise for quite some time. I'm really hoping that's not the case and preparing for worst case scenario will aid us all in the end.

Weird sunset...sort of overcast with this dim purplish glow. Eerie. And it was hot and humid today.
I was dripping wet by the time I finished with the shopping and did quite the work-out, lugging home the equivalent of 40 pounds of groceries in the course of two different trips. Up three flights of steps.

I feel completely unprepared and overwhelmed. The information is confusing and stressful. And I've no clue if I bought the right things or did the right things. Every time I think I've got everything covered, someone comes up with some crucial item that I forgot to get.

Off to de-stress a bit, before I have to get up tomorrow morning and start all over again, hardware store first, discount store second. Goal: Candles, Masking Tape, Window Protectors,
And containers to hold lots of water - in case I need it to flush toilets or clean or cook with.
Also some drinks that doesn't require refrigeration. And a cooler if I can find one.

It sounds silly, doesn't it, all this crazy preparation when others are rather blase about it.
But that's NY for you. Today a tourist told an interviewer how lucky they felt to have experienced both an earthquake in NYC and a hurricane. Hmm. Gotta love tourists.