Volunteering at Hurricane Shelter

My roommate and I had the opportunity to volunteer at a shelter that had be set up for families evacuated from Hurricane Sandy. We were the only students in the group that came to volunteer that day. The rest of the 15 or so volunteers were certified Child Life Specialists, Art Therapists, and a Dance/Movement Therapist. One of our professors at Bank Street had been contacted by someone at the shelter to come provide activities for the children. Everyone came with supplies and a ready attitude.

The shelter was set up at Queens College. In the large gym, people from an elderly care facility were set up on cots. There was an area set up for animals, however I could only hear barking coming from somewhere. The families we were there to see where set up in the cafeteria.  In one space, there was a food area, cots, personal belongings, donated items, and a tv area. There was so much stuff crammed into one area, it was amazing.

Once briefed, we broke into groups with our items in hand. I was outside in the courtyard with chalk helping the kids draw pictures or create a hop scotch game. There was a group of school age/middle school kids that became really engaged in playing hop scotch. A few minutes later I noticed one school aged boy really engaged with drawing lines on the pattern of the concrete. I went over to him and asked what he was doing. He said he was drawing a road so the other kids could bring their cars out and play on the roads he created. I asked if I could help him and he agreed to the help. The rest of the afternoon I spent helping him draw the roads, from one end of the courtyard to the other. When we had gotten a good portion drawn, he began to draw buildings. Later he brought out some cars to see how it all looked. In an atmosphere of chaos and kids stealing things from each other because they had nothing, this act by the boy was so generous and thoughtful.

Throughout our time there, we heard about different survival stories. I also talked to some parents who were so consumed by getting what they needed for their kids (socks, underwear, clothes) that they couldn't even fathom the psychosocial needs of their child. After that Sunday, the coordination of volunteers became so crazy, it was unfortunately not worth the time to continue to volunteer. The trip alone out to Queens from the Upper West Side also was a trek due to limited public transportation. But it was an eye opening experience and I am thankful to have had the experience.

The intersection of the "roads" the young boy drew with chalk.

The team.

Hurricane Sandy

It seems like so long ago the hurricane came through. Below are some pictures of what I experienced during the storm. Where I live in the Upper West Side, we did not loose power and buildings remained in tact. As most people saw on the news, there were many places hit hard that are still recovering.

The National Guard with crate of water. Loading up outside the Armory on Lexington.

More supply prep by the National Guard. Where they were delivering it to is probably another story.

For about a week we had free fare on the subway.

Subway ads for the NYC Marathon (that didn't happen).

Central Park was closed for at least a week because so many trees were down.

In preparation for the storm, Julie and Abby filled freezer bags with water and placed in the freezer. They also filled the bathtub with water, all in case we lost water.

Abby, Julie, and Kristen doing homework in our apartment. Abby (top) came to stay with us the week because her apartment is all windows and she lives on the 21st floor. Kristen (lower right) had just moved to her Upper West Side apartment and didn't have internet yet. Another classmate who lost power and water would come to our place to shower.

Some of the scene in Morningside Park. Lots of large trees had fallen.

When Central Park finally opened, bands were stationed throughout the park playing music.

Giants World Series Trophy Visits NYC

Art in Madison Square Park

The city has some great art installations if you take a look around. In Madison Square Park there has been large ball light installation that is really cool to look at during dusk or night. "Buckyball" was created by Leo Villareal and lights up in varying color, speed, and opacity. There are wooden lounges people can lie down to watch it.

Photo credit: Madisonsquarepark.org

Video of the Giant Celebrations

Here is some video from the World Series celebrations at Finnerty's. These videos were a lot sharper on my phone, so sorry they probably look like a dark bar with people screaming.

A Giant Win

I found a bar in the lower east side to watch the San Francisco Giants playoff and world series games. Finnerty's is home to Bay Area sports fans and shows everything from Stanford to Sharks games. Everyone there is from the Bay Area, so it was interesting to ask people where they were from and how they got to NYC. I was there the night they won the National League title and had to race down there from the upper west side after after class, making it by the 7th inning.

Always a packed house!

Celebrating our NL Champs!

People were standing outside the bar rows deep to watch the game. One family had brought their young daughter, who was giving out high fives.

When the Giants won the World Series, the bartenders started spraying everyone with soda water from the spraying thing. And they passed out champagne that fans were spraying on the crowd.

Remember the Stick!!!

Some fans brought brooms in anticipation for the sweep over the Tigers.

Nails at Nine!

Tonight I got off work and met my friend Abby for a spur of the moment beauty treatment. I pass by Hair & Spa Party on my way to work and have always been curious to go in. It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They offer hair, nails, massage, waxing, the whole thing. I needed to cut my nails anyway, and for $21 (including tip) this was a nice treat after a crazy few weeks of final papers. At least I won't bite my nails waiting for my final grades!

We got there at 9:30pm and were seated right away. The woman who did my nails did a great job. I asked her how late she was working until and she said 1am. She said people do come in really late, a lot of them tourists from the neighboring hotels, because she still want something to do late at night.

The color is OPI Linkin Park After Dark. It's a really dark purple that almost looks black.

photo from Flickr