Letters from NYC

F1 Tornado

We;ve been having freakish weather for over a week now. We've had so much rain our reservoir's are almost to overflowing and this morning I saw mold growing on a sidewalk curb. Folks, that is rare for New York. The heating pipes that run beneath the sidewalk make that impossible. Nevertheless, cooler temps combined with high humidity and lots of rain are to blame and from the Weatherman the news is there's no end in sight. Well at least through Monday.

As if all this rain wasn't enough, this afternoon we were visited by a category F1 Tornado a few miles from here. Of course I was so focused on work (and what's been going on in Germany today) that I was oblivioius to the weather. Bit at 90mph there was quite a bit of damage caused where the twister touched ground.

Well, I've not much more to say other than I've been insanely busy both at home and at work. At work it's review time, and so I've got all that work to do, plus last minute legislation to analyze that congress and various state houses are trying to push through at the 11th hour just before their labor day adjournment. I wish I could write about how these bleeding heart liberals are trying to penalize working people with lots more proposed taxes on the money they have carefully invested in the stock market and funds. I could go on a rant just about now but I'll save it for later. Right now I have to stay focused and positive for the things going on at home.

My home life is being challenged right now on 2 fronts: my son's health and on-going construction in my apartment (while I'm living there). My son is currently battling some minor things, but what's major is the adnoidectomy/tonsillectomy that he's going to undergo on Wednesday. At the same time, my contractors have once again missed the deadline for finishing some of the stuff they were doing at my apartment. This has been especially tough because I'm living in the apartment as the work's being done. So every night I come home to clean up stuff. And in some instances I've not liked the finished product and have donned overalls and used their tools to smooth out spackle and to do touch ups on other things.

So Wednesday, I'll be spending the day at the hospital keeping vigil over my son and hoping all will be finalized in the kitchen and bedroom by the time we get back home. Because my son has to remain home for a couple of weeks after surgery, I took advantage of a home depot sale and bought ceiling fans for the kitchen and livingroom to help lower the cost of cooling the entire apartment.

I have had a ceiling fan in the bedroom for years and it really helps keep the bedroom cool in the summer without the AC, and it keeps it warm in the winter longer without the heater being on all the time. Since it's worked so well in the bedroom, I can't wait for the other units to be installed in the other rooms. I'm not a fan of AC, so for me it's more than just conserving energy and money, it's feeling comfortable in an environment where Central Air is not possible. That's what happens when you live in a charming pre-war building that's not retro-fitted. So, if I can keep the entire apartment cool with just a couple of ceiling fans, without turning the AC while meeting my energy cost cutting goals, then by jove I'll do it!

Now if you'll all excuse me, I have to remove the protective plastic sheet off of my bed so I can lay down and get some decent sleep so I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed for Carmini the Magician who will be visiting us tomorrow. Till then sweet dreams to you all.

Posted by Michele at June 26, 2006 11:26 PM | TrackBack