end of a long week

Things are looking better
 here in Manhattan
 at least 
from 
34th Street north
 below 
34th
 things haven't gotten a lot better 
power is still out 

people I work with
 who live in NJ
 are still without power 
one co-worker had a tree fall on her house
 no one was hurt 
but rebuilding will have to happen
  another co-worker's home sustained no damage
 tho 
she too has no power
 and 
is unable to get off her street
 because 
of downed trees and power lines

 #1 boss sent his kids uptown to stay with his sister 
while he and his wife have moved temporarily into a hotel 

Wednesday morning 
I took the M104 to work 
waited a mere 15 minutes
 before it arrived 
got a seat a few stops later 
the trip took
 - door to door - 
45 min   

I left the office
 on 
Wednesday
 at 4 

walked 
to
 43rd Street and 8th Avenue
 to get 
an 
uptown M104

  waited only a few minutes 
before an already crowded bus
 (on the uptown route 43rd/8th is the first stop) 
excuse me 
excuse me 
excuse me
got me 
wiggle room 
to get as far back as I could


 the traffic was insane 
bumper to bumper 
at one point 
we
 did 
not
 move
 for 
10 min

 I'll spare you the drama of the ride

 at
 6:15
 I got off the bus
 at 
Broadway and 75th Street
 because 
I could no longer bear to be on the bus

 I walked the rest of the way
   
had I been wearing different shoes 
I would never have gotten
 on the bus

 I can walk 
from
office to home 
in 
35 min 

seriously 

You cannot imagine 
how
 happy 
I was 
Thursday morning
 when the morning news team
 announced
the subways
 - some of them - 
were 
running

  True

 its limited service
 but
 its running

  there is still no service below 34th Street 
because 
power is still out
 and 
there's still flooding 
but 
we're getting back to normal 
a little every day

  there were such horrific traffic tie ups 
throughout the city 
on 
Wednesday
 that
 the 
car pool
'rule' 
from post-September 11th 
was invoked

 until things calm down
 until there is full service
 between
 NYC MTA 
 the NJ Port Authority
PATH lines
 no car 
with less than 3 people 
will be permitted
 into
 Manhattan

this is being 
strictly 
enforced 
by
 police 
at bridges and tunnels 


Hopefully by Monday 
things everywhere will be better