rusty_halo | (no subject)

Power outage? Perfect opportunity to get drunk in a gay bar.

(Warning: this might be incomprehensible, as I'm so tired the screen is blurring, my brain doesn't seem to want to remember proper punctuation, and I'm using an unfamiliar computer with a wacky screen resolution.)

Let's see ... so I was at work, ~~archiving herself_nyc's Bittersweets series~~ working diligently, when the power went out. My coworkers and I thought it was just us until we realized that the traffic lights were out, too. I went outside and wandered a bit--I was going to buy a drink, but all the stores were closed with signs in the windows saying that the power was out. People were talking to friends on cell phones and reporting that other areas of the city were out too, but no one realized how widespread it was.

I finally went back to my office, where no one could work without their computers. My coworker Anne, who had left to go to the airport right before the power outage, had returned; she'd been unable to get the subway (luckily, or she would have been stuck!) My boss finally dismissed us, figuring we may as well just go home. He left to walk home to Brooklyn, across the Brooklyn Bridge. My other coworkers all had similar journeys to make, so I offered that anyone could come to my place, which is about a fifteen minute walk from work, and get some food (because I still had a ton of leftover snacks from the Johnny Depp party last weekend). Anne took me up on the offer, because she hadn't eaten all day and had a long journey coming up (we were assuming the power would be back shortly).

So, I brought Anne to my place, where we had to walk up the stairs (ick), and we ate. Then we hung out in my room, reading, waiting for the power to come back. It didn't, and eventually there wasn't enough light to read.

So we decided to go out. Anne freaked out about the dark stairway, so I lit a candle and brought it with us. (Luckily I had a bunch of scented candles; my apartment must smell wonderful now). We walked to a deli that she knew had vegan food; it was open, but we had to wait in a huge line to even get in. My phone was dead, but hers was working, so I called my parents to let them know I was okay. (They didn't seem to care either way, so I felt stupid for calling). The deli was dark, with only a few candles for light, so we lit our candle and used it to look at food. We each got some stuff, then headed out, just walking around. The streets were full of people, and many of the bars were selling alcohol out front. There was a car in front of my building with the radio on top volume (we'd been leaning out my window listening to it earlier), so we stood in front of it for a while, catching up on the news. (No one knows what happened, no one knows when the power will be back, but stay calm; it's not terrorism).

Then Anne said that her former hairdresser works in a bar nearby, and suggested that we go there and say hi and get drinks. I said sure, so we went to the bar and got beer. (I made her order for me, because I'm very inexperienced in matters of alcohol). Her friend was bartending, so they caught up, and then we sat down and drank and snacked and chatted. The bar was very dark, save for a few candles (including ours). It occured to me that we were the only women in the bar, and why would a hairdresser be a bartender, and hey, those men are kissing and oh! we're in a gay bar. Everyone we talked to was really nice; a lot of them were stranded after work, and didn't want to travel the long distance home. (Busses were running free, but were insanely crowded; the subway was and is still down). I figured one beer would be plenty for me, but then Anne's friend gave us more free, so I had two. It was a lot different than drinking wine, which mostly just made me woozy and tired. The beer actually made me chatty and relaxed, not sick. I think I'll drink beer next time I drink.

So anyway, around 10:30 we decided to leave. It was early, but it felt like 4am or something, because everything was so dark. There were flares on the streets, and people helping direct traffic. We headed back to my place and took cold showers; it was meltingly hot all night, especially in the bar and in my apartment. (We'd decided by then that Anne would be staying overnight, because no way was she going to try to find her way home to Brooklyn in the pitch dark). I set up my extra bed (it's a real mattress, which pulls out from under my bed) and we finally went to sleep a bit after midnight.

Unfortunately with the sweltering heat, it was rather difficult to sleep. The window was open to let some air in, but that also let the sirens, car noises, and party noises from the street into my room. So we tossed and turned all night; I only actually slept for about three hours. By six am, we were both fed up, so we got up and ate a bit. I finally remembered that I had a walkman (from high school days!) in the bottom of one of my drawers, so I dug it out, put it on top volume, and we listened to the news. We were just shocked that the power wasn't back; we'd been so sure that it would be back when we woke up. They were saying that power was back in some areas, but no one had any clue when ours would be back. Oh, and the subways won't be back until six to eight hours after all the power is back on, so no way could Anne get home by subway.

Eventually we tried to sleep a bit more (mostly I read), then we finally got up for good around ten. We decided to walk to my office to see if anyone was in. Also Anne had a pair of walking shoes there, and she figured she'd have to walk back to Brooklyn. She also called her neighbors using a pay phone (her cell had stopped working by then too) and found out that the power at her place was back. At work, none of our coworkers were there, but the doorman was -- he and the owners had had to stay overnight, so they were having a very tired little slumber party in the lobby. (I guess they couldn't lock up because the locks are electronic). We got our stuff from our office (the candle once again coming in handy), then headed to the GreenMarket at Union Square. The Body & Soul guy, who has vegan food, was already sold out before noon! So Anne figured out how to take various busses home, and we split up.

I sat in the park for a bit and read, since it was cooler than my apartment. I talked to a few people, but then this creepy guy started talking to me so I left. I went to the health food store, which was open! And used the candle to examine food, and so picked up more food and water. I called my parents in NJ, who had power, and finally decided to head to NJ. I know, I'm a pitiful New Yorker. But after almost 24 hours without power, and no clue when it would be back (the radio was saying it might be all weekend), and no clue whether the TV or internet would work once the power was back, and a swelteringly hot apartment, and no working phone or any other way to communicate with the outside world--well, it just seemed like a good idea to leave. So I went to my apartment, ate, got packed, and headed for Penn station.

There was no subway, and long lines at the bus stops, and every cab I saw was taken, so I just walked from my place to Penn. Which was quite a pain with a heavy bag, but it was nice to walk in the breeze. (My apartment was so hot. It's on the top floor, so all the heat gathers there.) I got quite a scare when I arrived at the Seventh Avenue entrace and found it blocked off by a whole group of police officers literally standing next to each other in front of it and not letting anyone through. So I walked around to the Eighth Avenue entrace and found it open. My line of NJ Transit was running (many weren't) and luckily, a train was there about to leave. I ran and caught it, and managed to find a seat, so that was a lucky break. Oh, and the train was air conditioned! I would've paid just to sit in that air conditioning for a while. It took us forever to get out of the station, so the trip was about two hours (twice as long as normal), but I finally made it to Jersey. I hadn't been able to call my parents and tell them I was coming, so I called from the station and had to wait another half hour to get picked up. But they came, and now I'm basking in the air conditioned, electrically lit paradise of my parents' house.

This whole thing raises so many interesting issues about our dependence on electricity and on media, but i'm a bit too tired to post about that now. I think I'm going to go take a nap.