where are your gloves and your helmet?

1. Have you ever been in a hurricane or typhoon? Which one, when and where?

Gloria, the September 1985 one, in New York City. Hugo, 1989, indirectly (mostly in the form of SO MUCH RAIN). Floyd, 1999, Wayne, New Jersey; I was working for the Red Cross at the time and was operating a storm shelter when Floyd passed through. Poking one's head out the door during the time the eye is passing over is a weird experience. Irene, 2011, my parents' house in New Jersey.

Sandy. Hoboken. 2012.

Did you know that when floodwater reaches a car's electrical system, the car's alarm system (assuming it has one, of course) starts going off? And doesn't stop until the battery runs out completely?

Did you know you can hear that over 90 MPH winds?

2. Have you ever been near an erupting volcano? Which one, when and where?

No. Thankfully.

3. Are there tornadoes where you live? Has a tornado come near you?

Not at the moment, but there've been tornado touchdowns in Massachusetts a few times this year so far. I went to school in Ohio, though. Closest I got to a tornado there was a day when the weather was bad enough that Cleveland was on watch, and I remember the sky turning gray, green, black, gray, green, black. Never actually saw a funnel cloud, though.

4. Have you experienced severe flooding? When and where?

Hoboken. 2012. I had to explain to my boss that I wasn't going to be able to get to the ferry terminal to get to the office because the water in the streets was up to thigh height and I didn't think I could wrap my legs in trash bags enough to walk through 3/4 of a mile of flood water.

5. What is the most extreme weather you have ever experienced?

Hoboken. 2012.

Second place goes to the winter I first moved to Massachusetts, when we had so many snowstorms in a row including at least one or two good blizzards that I was looking for the Wolf in the skies, because one of the first elements of Ragnarok is three winters together without a summer. One of my friends here in Massachusetts apologized to me with "you got a real New England winter... it just happened to be a Maine winter rather than a Massachusetts one."

I'm at a PSE&G charging station in town filling my laptop and phone batteries. The street light outside my home came on last night around 4 AM, but not the power to my apartment or the heat. They're working on it, I know. Optimum wifi reaches the station, so I'm using that right now. When I've got my charging done, I'm going to bike over to a few of the stores in town and then hit City Hall and/or the shelter to volunteer with this mess.

The cats are okay. Kamella slept on top of me last night after giving me a horrible scare- she knocked over a glass candle holder in the dark. Fortunately nobody was hurt and I was able to clean up all the pieces and sweep the area, and the candle had been blown out and there was no liquid wax. I may see about getting an alternative when I get the chance today.

Gas still works to my apartment, so I had soup last night and some of the pie I made the other day, and this morning I heated up water for washing myself up. I'll be hoping we get heat back in the apt. tonight so I can wash my hair after I get home, but I'm not optimistic.

I am aware there is a nor'easter heading in our direction. I'm wondering about mooning that storm as well.

Hope all is well with everyone else.

Sandy's best efforts to the contrary, I'm all right. I'm at work in Manhattan at the moment because light, power, heat, hot water, etc. are all out of service in my part of Hoboken and there is no point to sitting around in the dark with horrible communication options when I can go somewhere that lets me work, charge my devices, and be warm.

Cats & company are fine too.

NY Waterway is running until 6:30 PM so I'll be catching one of the later ferries out.

Thought folks should know.