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Live-blogging Hurricane Irene in NYC

Whaddya do when you’re stuck inside with nothing to do but ride out a hurricane? You write about it, obviiii.

Saturday, 11 a.m.

Head to the store before noon (that’s when stuff started closing) to get “supplies.” Holy sh*t you would think the apocalypse struck NYC. Part of me thinks that people are just using this storm as an excuse to buy as much unhealthy food as possible and completely pig out for the weekend. Even if the storm was at its worst and lasted two full days with no water or electricity, you would. not. need. that much water or food.

this should be enough, right?

When I walked into Gristedes and saw the line wrapping all the way to the BACK of the grocery store, I legit thought, “I would rather die in a hurricane than wait in this line,” and walked out. Headed to my fav local deli and got all the necessities. Unfortunately this did not include batteries or a flashlight. Whatever. What did they do before electricity in storms? It’s called candles, people! Plus I have the flashlight app on my Iphone…

Angela’s ‘Hurricane Irene’ Preparedness Guide

While I sit in my New York City office chatting with my coworkers about the weekend’s impending hurricane (ie: I’m distractedly yelping to everybody, “I’M GOING TO DIE IN MY BASEMENT APARTMENT!”, calling my parents in tears, and frantically checking bus lines), I’m finding myself having a hard time focusing on work and more about what I’ll need to prepare myself for the apocalypse.

not feeling very optimistic.

1. bottle of whiskey
This is probably the most essential item for a few reasons. One- it will help calm the nerves when the hurricane starts to hit. Two- it will help curb boredom when the city inevitably loses power and I have nothing to do but “read a book” and drink myself into a coma. Three – if (when) my basement floods, it’ll be way more fun to wade around in the newly formed lake in my bedroom if I have a load on. And if all else fails I can just drink the whole bottle, pass out and sleep through the damn storm.

2. weed
Duh.

3. kayak / kayak gear
For when I am thrust out of my apartment and have to get to work, the store, etc. They are shutting down the subways in the city at noon tomorrow. Could kayaks = new form of public transportation? Think about it.

4. Chex Mix (a really big bag)
Because it is delicious, and because everybody knows you can survive on those brown pumpernickel chips for weeks. Except that Chex Mix is damn salty, so you’ll want to have an even Chex Mix to bottle-of-whiskey ratio.

5. flashlight
To help you find your weed in case you lose power and the lights shut off.

6. Megabus tickets
Just in case you pussy out last minute and decide to peace out of town. Except wait…

Oh well, guess I’m fucked!


(For some live hurricane action, check out the webcam my buddy living on the Lower East Side set up for the weekend!)

Bella Terra 2011 Gets the Important Stuff Right

What makes a festival awesome?

Yes, Sherwood forests, silent discos, karma car-washes and 5k races are fun- but for most, the heart and soul of a festy lies in the music.

That’s why – despite a couple snafus – Bella Terra Festival, held last weekend in Stephentown, N.Y., got it right.

The biggest draw of this festival, now with three years under its belt, was the line-up. Packed into three days were over 50 acts, with some [personal] highlights including  Buckethead, Fear Nuttin Band, Rubblebucket, The Alchemystics, Dopapod, Mickey Heart Band, and Wes N Worrell (really just scratching the surface here).

Rochelle Takes Target

I hate shopping. [editor’s note: no really- she hates it.]

And I especially hate it on a beautiful summer day when I could be doing a whole lot of anything else.

"I wanna destroy the passer-by, 'cause I wanna be anarchy..."

Nevertheless, sometimes you have to go buy a few things, and in North Adams if it isn’t Wal-Mart or The Dollar Tree then it’s a trip to Target.

My husband and I like to call these outings a “date.”  This is supposed to make us feel happy and in love instead of miserable and filled with dread as we consider if we have enough gas to drive the 15 miles to the store, or whether we could have postponed buying laundry soap and toilet paper just one more week.

This trip would be brief. Rod would go in his direction and I in mine. Zip, zip, meet at the register and done. And it went just that way.

Once at the register Rod gave me a Visa gift card that he wanted to use toward the purchases. There was $10 left of the original $25. We ran the card and the cashier blandly stated, “It says the card’s no good.”