In the Wake of Sandy

One of many trees that came down in Cobble Hill, just a few blocks West of me.

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November 1st marks my six month anniversary
as a New York resident.  Sadly, I have not seen the city of Manhattan in five
days as, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, subways are not yet running from
Brooklyn into the city.  And, though petite as I am, I do not want to contribute to (or
deal with) the congestion of those who must get into the city for work.  Both of
my shops are without power, and unless power is restored or an audition/callback
comes up, there is no reason for me to make the trek. 

I find it ironic that the day before subways were shut down, I was treating
my day off as an excuse to explore places in the city I had not seen before.  I
began on the Upper East Side, and hit various spots making my way West before
traveling North to see the Cloisters (inside secret:  they might let you in free
if you lag because of indecisiveness, fall behind schedule, and arrive a mere 30
minutes before closing… possibly). 

Then it was down to the Lower West side for window shopping and the discovery
of the magnificent glory of a cupcake shop which, in my mind, makes Magnolia
Bakery equivalent to Dunkin’ Doughnuts (name to come as a recommendation at the
end of the blog).  This shop, which produced a morsel that made me chew ever-so
-slowly just to savor its magic a few precious seconds longer, is located in an
area that, like many, has not had power or water for almost a week.  People located South of 42nd Street are waiting in line to charge their phones on Christmas tree lights on the sidewalk.  I recognize my fortune that despite not being able to work this week, my
greatest frustration has been wanting to offer relief with my own water and
electricity to those without.  But because of transit issues, friends in Manhattan are weighing
the difficulty of figuring out how to get to me versus toughing it out for another couple of days.

   Brooklyn   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manhattan

My personal Hero of the Week award goes to my friend Nicole.  Her and her
husband are renovating a house they purchased out on Long Island; a house which
they received word a few hours into Monday’s storm had a tree fall on top of it. 
Waiting was agony, and though damage was pretty minimal, additional trees went
down around the house creating a dramatic clean-up situation that no new
homeowner wants to deal with.  In the activity and stress of assessing the
damage and figuring out what to do, a pair of zebra pajamas were dyed orange, a
hat with ears + a sword of tinfoil was masterfully crafted, and Nicole’s three
year old daughter enjoyed Halloween as the most kick-a** Puss-in-Boots that
anyone ever saw.  She was surrounded by her entire family, all sporting a Fairy
Tale Themed character; even her 1 year old brother as the Big Bad Wolf and her
mother, my dear 6+ft. tall friend, as Little Red Ridinghood.  I watched with
ever-so-slightly-misty eyes as this magical woman enjoyed carrying her little
boy up to a brownstone for his first Trick-or-Treat which would not be missed
come rain or shine.  Strapped back into his stroller, the Big Bad Wolf enjoyed
his Dum Dum sucker with a smile and a glee that seemed to suggest that stress
was (and should always be) a concept very far away from his understanding.  And
I hoped against hope that should I ever be lucky enough to make someone a
costume from pajamas or carry my own fuzzy character up to a porch for their
first Trick-or-Treat, that I do it with half of the warmth, heart,  and
creativity as Nicole does.

New great finds:

~ Molly’s Cupcakes at 228 Bleecker Street

~ FraJean on 7th Avenue in Brooklyn - Full
Service Spa VERY reasonably priced.

~ Rachel’s on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn - still
the best Mexican food I’ve found in the city