Things I miss

- I miss that phone number you used to be able to call to find out what the ACTUAL time is when you go to change the clocks
- my parents
- summer
- Seabreeze tavern
- the intersections formerly known as circles

Delaware Bay towns are decimated by Hurricane Sandy. We are kind of blessed around here with very little storm damage, Except for our little towns...Gandy's Beach, Fortescue, Money Island. It has been on my "bucket list" to spend the night at the Hotel Charlesworth in Fortescue. I may have missed my chance. I am sure that restaurant is just hanging on by a thread on a GOOD day and this is not a good day.
A friend with a house in Gandy's Beach was one of 13 people permitted to go back yesterday only for 2 hours to survey the damage. They have no roads, electric, decks, porches, bulkheads, fronts. Entire town blocked off and forbidden entry. Similar little town of Seabreeze already abandoned by order of the state of New Jersey. I fear the fate of our other towns is going to follow. Or the state will enact new laws which are impossible for the home owners to obey and thus, they will be forced to leave. New Jersey's "other shore" is a bit downtrodden and full of various runs of bugs, but we love it. The greenheads, the horseshoe crabs, the full moon, etc.

Out and about again today. I really need to stay home and pay my bills and call some people but, when you are retired, you always think there is tomorrow. But then tomorrow is all booked up.

Desk-in-a-box

Came to work today. I have a job which is only one day a month. And not every month.
I have no desk, no office, no mailbox. But I DO have a business card and a name badge and a pay check. All of my belongings are now in a box which is kept in the supply closet. Bingo! Instant desk! After I borrow a key, get a cart and traipse up to the second floor on the elevator, go through several doors, unlock the door to the supply closet and viola there is my stuff. At the end of the day, I pack it up and put it back.

Fruit makes me hungry. And Diet Coke, too. I eat it or drink it and suddenly, I am ravenous.

I bought three Amish pretzels the other day. I bought them because THEY WERE ON SALE.
I don't really even LIKE pretzels....clammy white flour and salt, yeuch. I can't believe there are whole businesses which only serve/sell pretzels.

Tailgating, the sport of idiots

Funny thought posted on the back of a pickup truck. Reminds me of all the times I wish I could put up some signs out the back window of my vehicle telling off the jerks that are the other drivers.

Voting morass. Every day wondering, are they going to postpone the election? Good when Christie and Obama shake hands. Bad when residents are desparate and complaining already about FEMA (or the lack thereof). Good when Obama takes charge. But states in Hurricane area were already "blue" states. People are going to be too distracted to vote. Some polling places were washed away. My mind is a mess hearing all of this.

So many fortunate (me) and unfortunate (you) hurricane stories. Feeling sort of superficial. All I care about is, "Will my Vietnamese nail technician be able to get back from Vietnam?"

My excursion for the day

I can build a whole day around an appointment. Today had a chiropractic/massage appointment in Vineland, the town I used to work in. Did many errands on the way there and stopped in to visit the old gang for break time. Now, a day with NO appointment causes me some anxiety, but I can fill up a whole day with just one.

It is very peaceful here today. And quiet, like a library is SUPPOSED to be but so seldom is, these days. And the teak colors of the furniture go nicely with the fall colors out the picture windows. In addition to the whole library system going into freefall and changing, Verizon lines have been out since the storm.

Going to WORK on Saturday. I have a job. It is only ONE day a month. And not EVERY month. Now, that is MY idea of a job.

Reasons to be happy

1. Family relatively unscathed in Hurricane Sandy
2. Took two pain pills
3. Listening to Rachmaninoff piano concerto #2 in car
4. Gorgeous clouds and sun and fall leaves on ride down to Greenwich
5. There is no five, but things sound better in fives

Actually, that was Ellen's joke which I heard last night as she got Mark Twain award at John F. Kennedy center in DC. I adore Ellen DeGeneris. I would love to go to her show, even. I think I tried to enter a contest to get tickets but you had to submit a picture of yourself and that stymied me. She just gets more adorable as the years go by.

I have always hated our Governor, Chris Christie. Have never been able to watch him complete a sentence on TV, even. But, now, I have been obsessively watching Hurricane coverage for five days and I am glued to his every word. He really does seem to CARE about New Jersey.

Fishing in the firehouse

Two feet of water in the Avalon, New Jersey, firehouse and they were FISHING in there! I am taking the lazy man's approach to storm investigation...watching it on TV. My sister and her boyfriend went out in the car to check on status of boats which were pulled into dry dock in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy. 10,000 Atlantic City Electric customers are without power in Cumberland County. 7.4 million people woke up in the dark this AM, Tuesday. Luckily, not us. I am looking out the window onto Clark's Pond which is relatively calm and drizzly. We might even see the sun tomorrow.

Worried about the beach. My worries about Sea Isle seem to have been well founded. Bridges are out or closed between Avalon and Ocean City and Avalon and Sea Isle City. That means if anyone wants to travel between the towns, they have to go inland to get on the Parkway. And all of the lovely libraries I hung out in this summer. I spent more time at the beach this year than any other summer, because I was retired and had time during the week. Between the death of a young man last week and the storm this week, I am very struck by the fragility of everything.

Have never been able to watch our Governor Christie even complete a sentence prior to now. I must admit I was glued to his every word during the crisis and he seemed to be doing a good job.

Things to do when the electric goes off

Just trying to get my lists together:
- Things to do while the electricity is on: watch DVDs, cook, enjoy the heat
- Things to do when the electricity goes off: read, eat the ice cream

Went down to my sister's to try and distract myself from Hurricane Sandy. We have been watching the approach on TV and getting ready for DAYS. If it is going to leak at home, it is going to leak and there is not much I can do about it. I'll just have to clean it up when the storm is over. I just got BORED with my home activities and thought I would come down to where there is a fireplace and they live on top of a hill. We watched a really great DVD called Page eight, a British spy caper that I missed on Masterpiece theater.

I'd like life to get back to normal, but I don't really know what normal is any more.