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we x e g e s i s |
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(noun) An explanation or critical interpretation.
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wFriday, August 15, 2003 |
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So there I was, bogged down by about 11 things to do with more stuff coming down the pipe every other minute, struggling with some strained relations with some unsupportive coworkers, trying to help the G.A./intern staff run like the well-oiled machine that I know we can resemble at times, and then the lights flicker off, the drone from the A/C quickly turns to silence and finally the tape library's computer screen goes blank. I sit in front of the computer for the first couple of seconds thinking that the tech dept. will walk in and flip a switch in the fuse box to restore everything but instead I hear management running down the stairs, wondering what the heck's going on. The lights in the library are dimmed and I hear people gathering in the reception area mentioning the possibility of a fire. Curiousity (and quite frankly, a sense of relief) brought me out to reception where I plopped myself down on the couch and watched everyone else try to make sense of things. It had been an almost unbearable day and I was only too happy to let all that tension fade away with the lights. Other people might call it an accident, I call it divine intervention.
When I wandered over to the window and looked across the street, I noticed that several Sam Ash employees were congregating outside the stores and the neon lights that usually outlined the name of another store on the street was out. An intern was sent outside to see if the traffic lights were on but even before he came back, everyone already knew that it was at least a neighborhood wide blackout. Soon we got a battery-operated radio working and everyone fell silent as we waited for the word "terrorist" to come up. Meanwhile, clients were sitting in the studios waiting for the electricity to come back on. Try to picture it: people standing in the live room, holding their instruments, ready for another take as the engineer and assistant in the control room try to remember the last time someone hit "save" and how much was lost since then.
When we find out from the radio that the blackout took out the Northeast from Canada to Detroit, everyone gave up hope on the electricity coming back on anytime soon. The boss man gets really concerned about the lack of A/C and jets out of there the first chance he gets, clients are told to call it a day, and a few cans of beer manage to find their way out of the soda machine. I made my way to the roof with a few others and we looked down into the belly of Times Square. In the middle of rush hour, it didn't look that much different from any other day, except for the lack of traffic lights and a little more people outside. There really wasn't any noticable signs of panic.
By the time we went back to the studio, candles were lit in the hallways and we were told to start locking things up. First thing was to take all the trash out since no one wants to come back to work with the air reeking of rotting food. Then as I went through the lounges, I started to gather supplies for the rest of the day, such as bottles of water and some grapes (hey, it's better than letting them go to waste!). Once outside, everyone started making their way home except for Nef and me. We followed Donna to Central Park where she continued on home while we sat on a bench by the pond and waited for the crowds to thin out. It was an uncomfortably hot day, but sitting in the shade made a huge difference. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring some blankets and a deck of cards from work but we managed to keep ourselves entertained.
Wanting to get home before the sun set, we started walking downtown a little before 7PM. On our way down 5th Ave., there were quite a few folks trying to help traffic along by standing at intersections and directing the drivers and pedestrians. Being that everyone was impatient to get home, their efforts were only slightly effective. Of course, it was a field day for street vendors and it took us a few tries to find one that still had hot dogs. By 40th St. Nef heads east to catch her bus and I head west to get my bike from the other studio. I then remembered that I wouldn't be able to park it in the gated area at school since the gate is electronically controlled (you have to swipe your NYU ID to get in). There was no way that I was going to leave my bike on the side of the street with even more people roaming about than usual so i decided to just trek all the way home.
Around Herald Square, I found an ice-cream truck and got a Root Beer float to accompany me all the way to the Flatiron Building. There, I spotted a restaurant that was selling Italian ice outside so I got another distraction to last me until Union Square. Fortunately, that's where a few ladies had set up a table on the sidewalk and were selling candles and lighters. I picked up 8 tealights and 4 short, stocky candles and hoped that the blackout wouldn't last longer than these would. Thank goodness I had a decent amount of cash in my pocket (for once!) and didn't have to worry about ATM's! By the time I reached my block, the sun had already set and it was pitch black in the halls and stairwell of my building. I placed a tealight on each floor and made it up to my apartment.
Good thing I picked up those extra candles because there was only 1 candle in the apartment! My roommates and I hung out on our roof deck for a while since it was stinking hot in the apartment without A/C. I listened for a bit on my Discman's radio to the president making statements that didn't really say anything. The neighbors were out too and had their own candle display going on. The roomies went to bed soon after and I took a shower and wondered how on earth did I still have hot water?! Isn't the plumbing governed by electricity somewhere along the line? Anyway, it was too hot to fall asleep right away so I picked up "The Between Boyfriends Book" by Cindy Chupack and read a couple chapters.
Outside, I heard people breaking out the beer and partying it up which was fine by me until I drifted into dreamland and was woken up by the masses outside my open window talking loudly and making other disruptive noises. It was 4AM and I was sweating just laying on my little couch trying to sleep--it didn't take much more to get me very irritated. So I got up, opened the door leading to the roof deck and slammed it, hoping that everyone would get the hint, drenched myself in cold water, read a bit more and slept on and off until 11AM.
By the time I got up, both roomies were out and I decided to walk around the neighborhood to hunt for food. My cellphone was running out of battery so I made one last call to Daddy and told him to come and rescue me. It was one thing to stay in the city and grieve with the other New Yorkers during 9/11, but tossing and turning all night without A/C was a whole other ballgame that I couldn't handle. The deli on the next block had Gatorade that was somewhat cool (score!) and the pizzaria on the corner had some breaded chicken left so they were wrapping them in pita, lettuce and white sauce to sell to the hungry Villagers. I sat on the steps of the church next door to polish off my lunch and people-watch. A mother with a small child in a stroller passed by and I wondered how much more difficult the past night must have been for her.
Back in my apartment, I opened the roof deck door, plopped myself down on the couch next to it and finished the Chupack book. The breeze that occasionally made its way into the room was enough to keep me comfortable. Circumstances notwithstanding (like worrying about the things that I had left unfinished at work and the food in the refrigerator that was spoiling), it was a perfect afternoon.
About an hour and a half later, I was in the middle of packing for my trip to Jersey when someone comes knocking on my door. It turns out to be my dad who couldn't get a hold of me because my cellphone died and the intercom system for the apartment ran on electricity that was no longer available. My roommates walked in just as I was walking out. I told them about how I was a wuss without A/C and that I'd be back before Monday. Sure, I felt guilty for abandoning them, but I couldn't take another night of heat and noisy neighbors! As I sat in the air-conditioned Jeep, on my way to an air-conditioned house, I was grateful for every little thing, especially the chance to get back to civilization so I could forget about it all again.
posted by
Angie at 10:58 PM
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