Post Hurricane Holiday

I inspected the damage done by Hurricane Sandy
in Mimi and GongGong's neighborhood

The hurricane is over but its effects are still all around us. From long lines at the gas pumps to downed trees to continued horror stories about all of our nearby neighbors who have no electricity, no heat and even worse, no homes.

Welcome to NY, Daniel!

Zia Em and I in front of a downed tree

The root is taller than me!

And all that has meant that the babies are stuck inside except for the occasional walk around the block. With the cold weather settling in and no gasoline to drive anywhere, Lucas and I have had to stick close to home.

Of course we are using the time wisely. I have cleaned out Mimi's shoe closet and learned to use the vacuum cleaner. And Lucas has enabled us to watch Veggie Tales with surround sound by figuring out how to turn on the stereo!

Lucas has also learned to walk. And I also taught him how to sign for "more" and say "bye-bye" in sign language. And, now he is even learning how to unload the dishwasher!

Follow @nic_jansezian

Irene, Meet Sandy

Last year my swirl was what meteorologists used to track Hurricane Irene.
This year, heftier and more serious, it is Sandy

As fate would have it, there isn't much more to say than this: I am in New York, quite quickly and unexpectedly (and believe me there are NOVELS, not just blogs, to say about that), and naturally, so is Sandy. Or Frankenstorm, as she has been dubbed.

Nary a year ago it was Hurricane Irene that coincided her visit to New York with mine (see photo in righthand column in my bio - taken the day after Irene). It just wouldn't be the same being in New York without such adventure, and so Sandy has decided to come up the coast to greet me. Nearly two years ago it was the Blizzard of 2010 that shut down New York City for about a week (see entertaining video on this page: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Reflecting-Through-Satire-The-New-Yorker-And-SNL-Roast-Bloomberg-113230979.html). And I was here for that too. I am a veritable magnet for adventure and natural occurrences.

Way back in Jerusalem, with the sun shining
and temps in the 80s, Lucas heard the call:
Come to New York!

And so he packed!

And I followed suit, making sure to pack my
emergency gear. And myself.

We haven't seen the sun since we left Israel last Wednesday. Then again, we haven't seen rain since April, so I suppose I should be grateful.

As trees come crashing down in front of our home and all around, at least we still have electricity, making for exciting blogs.

The tree in front of Mimi and GongGong's house

The whole root came up!

I was kept caged in, away from the action

Then I got my front row to watch the show

Follow @nic_jansezian

My Very First Hurricane

Me braving Hurricane Irene

Despite living in another country, many of my significant "firsts" have occurred during my short times in America. And many of those have involved natural disasters.

For instance, when I was in New York in December, I experienced my first blizzard. It seemed to be an ongoing snow storm that began the day after Christmas and dragged temperatures to a permanent below-freezing level with ice lining the streets the entire rest of our duration in the US.

Accordingly, we planned to return again in the summer, not in the winter, so we could actually visit people, shop and even leave the house every so often. So in August we sojourned to the Big Apple for our annual visit.

Then came Irene. The hurricane taught us an important lesson: There is no safe time to visit New York.

Not that we were in danger of anything but boredom. We were fine, except for losing electricity for 36 hours. And, just like the blizzard, I was sort of oblivious to the consequences of the storm. I was still fed and entertained as per usual. I didn't succumb to the same boredom as others, like my parents and Zia Em who rely on internet for their livelihood, since my toys are mostly battery operated. Not to mention, I slept through the heavy winds and rain which came inconspicuously overnight. For me, there wasn't anything of which to be afraid.

And after that night of rain, we all ventured outside to view the devastation that befell the neighborhood (again, minor except for a few unfortunate cars). It was my first time out in post-hurricane conditions and what a photo opportunity it was. Though this was a few weeks ago, the photos made it a noteworthy event to revisit.

Zia Em and I surveying the felled trees

Here we are on Mimi and GongGong's block

Another view of downed trees

The only remains of Hurricane Irene were
her footprints on my head

Abba traded in a shovel for a rake on his vacation

Picking up sticks is better than shoveling hundreds of feet of snow.
But it is not the preferred way to spend your "vacation."

Follow @nic_jansezian

Battening Down the Hatches - Many Firsts in my First Week in NY

"Welcome Daniel and his Parents and Sherlock
(my little bro) too."

Unless you are privy to me living in the same house as you or are my great grandparents or close family, many of you may be wondering how I did on the plane and where I have been, what new and exciting firsts have occurred in my life in the last two weeks. Perhaps you are wondering if our plane accidentally crossed the Bermuda Triangle while sojourning to America or if I am still suffering from jet lag. Or maybe you are concerned that I have been swallowed up by the lips that have been kissing me in New York or that maybe some natural disaster has sent me scurrying to find shelter.

In fact, only some of the above contributed to the reasons for my lack of journaling in the last few days. And even better excuses on top of that. No instead, it was a series of firsts in my first week and a half here that thwarted my blogging, from natural disasters to natural occurrences. In fact, I have now experienced the Trifecta of natural disasters and all in NY: blizzards (in December and January while here), earthquakes and hurricanes! Wow - who could ask for a better vacation? Well, my parents could. I've heard them mumbling and whining about the weather conditions several times so far. Anyway, I digress. Allow me to go back to my excuses for not blogging.

First I was stymied by jet lag. That took a few days, but I overcame it with aplomb. That was, of course, immediately followed by tooth lag when, for two straight nights (or was it three?), I was up all night screaming in agony, not jet lag related. And since misery loves company I involved the entire household in my all nighters. Much less graceful than the jet lag, but, in my defense, I have five teeth jockeying to come through all at the same time. Only one made it though and I am proud to report that yes, I have a tooth. And it is on top no less. The adults, naturally, didn't know for sure it was a tooth and were plying me with all sorts of natural remedies to overcome whatever was ailing me. Also, my parents kept checking the bottom row only for signs of a tooth when finally Aunt Majda was the only one who thought to brave the upper row and was duly rewarded with a sharp jab to her finger. Bingo! It might have even been there for two days and no one would've known!

Excuse my parents. My doctor told them that those swollen gums on top were not going to materialize into teeth. Moral of the story - don't trust doctors. Oh and remember that dentist who insisted it was impossible to know whether teething hurt? Fire him.

My "nap times" on Mimi and GongGong's bed

We tracked the progress of Hurricane Irene
on that swirl on my head.

These two events were interspersed by a party - my second first birthday party but my first in New York! I had lots of family - fourth, fifth and maybe sixth cousins in attendance, including the tiniest of all, a 6-week-old little darling named Viola! My parents already can't remember me being that small!

Then after tooth lag came hurricane hype. For four days leading up to the actual arrival of Irene we were bombarded by crazy media reports and frantic NY City and New Jersey mayors, governors and spokesmen canceling mass transit well before the rain even started with my new favorite Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey sternly warning sunbathers: "Get the hell off the beach!" And the rain started Saturday making me a veritable prisoner in my own Mimi and GongGong's house. Apparently we joined the fray and lost power eventually, but my life remained unaffected since I drink room-temperature bottles and most of my toys are battery operated. Well, except for my blog. And we still have no power, which is why I am blogging from Panera, another first in my life. (Not Panera - I've already visited here several time, but blogging from here is a first.)

Of course, sprinkle in my first taste of ice cream, a cupcake, an entire plate of ravioli (spinach with vodka sauce), eggplant rollatini, pasticcio, a garlic knot, polenta, Greek lamb kufta and a myriad of other items I can't quite recall.

So, first tooth, first foods, first NY party, first meeting of relatives who were just born, first hurricane, possibly first earthquake but there was also one in Israel that I did not feel and now first blogging experience at Panera (along with all the other Long Islanders who don't have power at their homes). I have so much more upon which to expound that I might have to book myself a permanent table at Panera until we get power back.

Nanni and cousin Cristine

Me with Zia Em meeting Popi

Me with Mimi

Follow @nic_jansezian