off the L: Indoor Activities

STORM TROUPE.

Hurricane Sandy hit NYC as a superstorm Monday, the 29th of October. My roommates and I handled the situation like we handle all things: in style. Case & Point: Here's how we managed opening a ceremonial apartment-warming coconut:

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We didn't end up having to use the hammer during Hurricane Sandy, but we did make the most of our tiny apartment, which was more stuffed than usual since my brother's friend Pedro got stranded with us. Pedro had arrived in town several days before the storm hit, and after Delta iceboxed every flight out, we four amigos formed the Storm Watchers Alliance and prepared to bunk down and survive the best way we knew how. This meant Bridget strategically stashed the fridge full of beer, Michelle made crepes and led a homemade pizza brigade, and Pedro entertained everyone with tales of the wild west. For my part, I hustled away at my College Humor freelance gig (which entailed creating poppy infomercial-style overlays and graphic snippets for this sizzle video: CH Production Promo ) and took breaks to storm watch with my pals and snack and watch John Candy movies whenever possible. In addition to Pedro, we took in Michelle's New Jersey cats for the storm and I like to think Button and Moose had as much fun lounging in the K'livingroom as the rest of us. Though this is strange to say about being on house arrest during a hurricane: it really couldn't have been any better.

Storm Watchers, Night 1

Parties start with Jenga!

Bridget is a pro.

Jump Stance! Storm Watchers, Day 2.

Michelle. 'Nuff said.

Neighborhood watch:

no Sandy yet...

Cabin Fever can be dangerous.

Moose judged me hard during
my late nights working.

Storm Watchers, Day 3: seeing tiny glimpses of blue. We made it, guys.

By Halloween, the worst of it was over. We ended up seeing hardly any of the storm from our safe zone in Brooklyn, and at worst - we lost internet for about a day. For that, I'm incredibly thankful, because I know many people's homes were devastated by flooding and high winds around the area, and some lost lives in the few days Sandy raged around the Apple. From our roof, it didn't seem like anything had happened at all, so Pedro and I decided to shake out our restless legs and see how Williamsburg was faring on the 31st. With trains into Manhattan down, we wandered my neighborhood and found others out and about in a bewildered daze - some celebrating their good luck too, others just unsure of what to do with themselves with no way to get to work. (For those who care, I did have an Annie Clark eyelock on Bedford Avenue before she hit The Colbert Report days later.)