Hurricanes and Snow Storms

Grocery stores with empty shelves and getting to know your neighbors. That's what hurricanes and snow storms have in common.

During my first Florida hurricane in 2005 (Yaba-daba-Wilma) I learned what its like to be lacking in food on the grocery store shelves for a few weeks. Last week during snowpocolypse 2 and 3 I waited in line for milk for like two hours and there were empty shelves everywhere at the Soviet Safeway down the street. While I was in line at the grocery store I made friends with another woman who has an elderly woman's name as well. I struck up a conversation later that day with a group of girls walking down H Street who had waited for the bus for almost an hour and met all of the people who live on my street while they shoveled 90 percent of the snow off of our street.

I recalled the group of people from my Wellington Condo neighborhood that started a grilling party with steaks from their powerless freezers in the middle of the parking lot. I also remembered how they all worked together to saw apart pine trees that had fallen into roofs and cars and clear the community roads.

These similarities gave me a short sense of deja-vu.

This two hour wait in line reminded me of people waiting in line for gasoline for their generators. Oh the memories of a category five hurricane. Rather than below freezing temperatures there was ridiculous the humidity, and in place of the snow storm drifts there were piles of cars and trees pushed off to the side of parking lots. Snow melts folks!

While there are similarities, I'll be the first to take the milk line for snowpocolyse over Wilma, or Rita or Frances or Jeanne.

Weathering the Second Storm

So we are hanging out with Julie and Jared James during this crazy winter storm. They braved the storm to watch Lost with us last night and now they're stuck here. Too bad. We're having a great time playing Mario and board games, eating a lot and will be playing in the horizontal snow later. Although I say vertical in this video--I meant horizontal.

Snowpocolypse 2010

Washington DC covered in white is much like living in the country. You ask why? Perhaps it has to do with the way people interact. The people on my street were so friendly after the storm. Similar to the way people in Florida helped each other clear debris after the hurricanes. People on the street were shoveling each others cars out of the snow, as well as the streets and sidewalks.

Perhaps its the fact there are very few businesses open? Although I hear Granville Moore's and Sticky Rice had some great specials for those who braved the storm to visit their businesses. Greg and I went to Sticky Rice for brunch on Sunday. The food was absolutely amazing! Our waitress told us she had driven from across town to get to work but that several of her coworkers had walked to get there.

As a graduate student the snow storm gave me time to catch up on some much needed cleaning, rest and reading. It looks like we might get more snow again tomorrow. I'll post some more photos later.

I think I like DC this way.

Technology and Neighbors

What makes life meaningful? Today in my Media and Politics class the professor pointed out that media is mass when people turn to it for meaning in their lives rather than to their community. In essence the media has become a lot of people's artificial community. We are often engaged in communities, like those on Facebook and Twitter that can not be replicated in real time and space.

I'd argue that while media has made our lives a lot easier it was never meant to make us less connected to reality. The reason we created computer technology was to gain time. That time instead has been booked up fuller than our lives were without these new technologies.

So in my new space I've made it my goal to interact with my neighbors. This is a little scary I have to admit. But I'm taking it a little at a time.

Things that go bump

So this moring after getting into the shower I heard a loud crash coming from the guest room. I did not think much of it because in the process of moving our house has managed to acquire several large pillars of boxes.

Upon getting out of the shower, my head wrapped in a towel turban, I discovered a toppled pile had closed the guestroom door from the inside. This is where my problem solving skills went to work. Suddenly I flashed back to the days of Odyssey of the Mind when my team and I (a group of fourth and fifth graders) solved the problems of the world with balsa wood structures.

How was I to get the door open and move the boxes out of the way? In a quick 10 minute trip around the house I discovered a broom and went to work trying to pry open the guest room door. After about 10 minutes the door was open. Much to my dismay I discovered the contents of five boxes stacked against the wall had spilled onto the ground.

This mess consisted of a hodgepodge of Greg's toys from childhood and a bag of small gift items I keep stashed for last minute birthday parties/to brighten someone's day. Looking at this pile I discovered not only how different Greg and I are--but also how funny Luke Sky-walker looks surrounded by lotions and gift soaps.