Saturday Jeaux and I woke up in our New York hotel room and had our breakfast out on the terrace. We wandered around at bookstores and I happened to check the weather page on my phone and we found out that there was a storm approaching Florida, forecast to be a Category 2 hurricane named Milton. We got a little anxious about it and went down the street to eat pizza and talk about what we were planning to do to prepare when we got back to Florida. We decided the storm looked too dangerous to stay--Jeaux lives in a flood evacuation zone so would be definitely facing evacuation, and I live under really big trees that I don't trust during hurricanes above Category 1. We decided we'd plan to evacuate when we got home. And then we changed into nice clothes and went out to see the early showing of the Broadway musical Six, which we super enjoyed! We then went back to the hotel, changed again, and ventured out to a place called Swingers for mini golf and food. Unfortunately it was much more geared toward drinking than we really wanted, so we decided it was something worth trying once but that we didn't love it.
Sunday we ate breakfast on the terrace again and then I spent some time catching up at work. Then we went to the Museum of Natural History and had a great time looking at dinosaurs and birds and human history. We took a break halfway through to eat some good Asian food (so we wouldn't have to pay museum cafeteria prices) and went back to look at more stuff. Friends were beginning to text me asking what my hurricane plans were. We had decided by that point that we would evacuate to somewhere in Georgia. After our museum visit, we went back to the hotel and got ready for our reservation at the Peak restaurant (with included observation deck visit). Our food there was not as good as the last time we went but it was still worth doing, and we enjoyed the Edge. Then we bought some less expensive dessert on our way back to the hotel at a trendy sweets shop. We got our bags packed for the morning and went to sleep.
Monday we grabbed very early breakfast and didn't eat it on the terrace because it's cold out there before 7 in the morning. We got to the airport super early and had lots of time to kill! I got some work done. Then I slept on the plane most of the time. Jeaux and I parted ways at the airport and I got a cab back to my place. I immediately (and I mean immediately, didn't even stop for a drink) began hurricane preparation. I spent an hour bringing all my outdoor stuff inside my garage and plants into my back room. Then finally I got some lunch and began doing laundry, unpacking, and re-packing my stuff to leave the state. I communicated with my friend Yasmin about the storm and they were not going to leave the area but they were in a mandatory evacuation zone so I told them they could use my house as backup even though I myself did not want to stay. They came over and got a key from me in case they couldn't go with their first choice of place to ride out the storm, which made them feel better I hope! I did some packing and sending a Polo to Meghan. The path of the hurricane and its strength kept getting scarier looking. Some were estimating it could be a Category 4 hitting Tampa dead on. I tried to get some sleep but was planning to leave at 1 AM with Jeaux to drive to Georgia so I didn't get much success with that.
Barely Tuesday, 1 AM, Jeaux came over and we loaded up the car. We left in his lovely car (which is named Toothpaste). We initially just drove for hours until we crossed the state line at 6 AM and ended up in Valdosta at an IHOP. The restaurant was short-staffed and overwhelmed with people trickling in evacuating. I had a very short nap in the booth. (I did not want to sleep in the car because if Jeaux had to be awake, so did I.) Jeaux did some research while in the restaurant trying to find the best place to get a hotel, but we had to go pretty far away to find anyone with any availability and they were saying the closest open hotel was 3 hours away. We booked it anyway and ended up in Columbus, Georgia. Jeaux thought we'd be able to check in but I thought we'd have to wait for the usual check-in time, and I was right--we couldn't check in until 3 PM and here we were around noon. So we holed up in a library and I tried to sleep there and that also didn't work very well. We finally got to get into our hotel (but there was a huge pile-up at the counter because of some check-in issue by the person at the front of the line and technical difficulties), and I took a shower and hit the lovely, lovely bed. We really liked our hotel room! It was actually better than the one we had in New York. Which was good because we'd be living in it for a few days. After our nap, we went out wandering, found a Taco Bell and ordered food, and brought it back to our room to eat while watching Colbert. I usually don't go to Taco Bell because out of the three times I've gone there, they've given me meat instead of bean burritos two of the three times. This was my fourth time. They gave me meat again. Jeaux got to have an extra burrito because of that. Sigh. We also got some staple food at Walgreens to just keep in the room. I do like peanut butter sandwiches.
Wednesday I did a great job sleeping in. We were a little late to the continental breakfast so we had to eat in a crowded dining room but that was okay. After we got back to the room and started working from the hotel room, I checked my interior cameras I left on in my house and was surprised to see my friends walking into my house! (They had not told me they would be using my house for a backup after all.) So I texted them like "hey guys!" and told them about the camera, which had been set up to help me determine whether there was any damage while I was gone. They finally got back to me and updated me on their situation. Yasmin and Arthur and their cat would be staying there for the storm. Through the day Jeaux and I ate sandwiches and took walks and stuff. We watched hurricane news. It was pouring rain in Tampa. Power finally went out there at my house at 8:40 PM, leaving my friends in the dark and confirming I would lose all the food in my fridge and freezer. Sigh. Jeaux and I went out for sushi and came back. Jeaux wanted to go to bed early in case we might be able to start driving back at like 1 AM again. I was pretty sure that wasn't going to work because, like, the hurricane was actively beating the shit out of our city right then. But he believed it would be over fast and we wanted to beat the rush. It did not work out that way; when we woke up and Jeaux was still thinking leaving for Florida would be a good idea, I talked him out of it because the hurricane was still literally over my house until like 3 AM and we didn't know what the flooding and downed trees would be like. We decided to extend our stay another day and Jeaux took care of it. I know he was disappointed but that was safest in my opinion. I went back to sleep.
Thursday I took a fast shower and we went down to breakfast. We both went to work (I worked a lot actually) and Jeaux took one of his walks without me because I was so busy. I got sparse updates from my friends who were still kinda trapped at my house with no power because of impassable roads. After work we walked to a bowl place and got bowls. Yum! Then we decided we had enough proof that there wasn't too much flooding in his area and his power was on. (My area had tons of downed trees and flooding and no power.) I bought a book light so I could draw my damn comic in the car on the ridiculous ride back. I got it done in under two hours. Go me. We stopped at the same IHOP in Valdosta! Then ended up at Jeaux's house and there was a lot of tree damage and crap but it was safe. He got me up to his place and we went to bed at about 5 AM.
Friday there was still no power at my house and my friends were still squatting there. They did some cleanup on my yard which was very nice of them! Jeaux and I went to the grocery store to get me some staple food and instant coffee. Then we both went to work. Later we took a walk to a copy shop and I got them to scan my art so I could do my comic. I was not able to see the scan because there was no screen, so I was disappointed when I got back to Jeaux's that the scanning had been crooked and some of my art just wasn't even picked up by the scan. Had to make do with that and templates that didn't render right on my laptop, but guess what, I still got my webcomic up even while displaced by the hurricane. Took a shower, did laundry, ate a sandwich. Went to bed early and my friends were still squatting at my house with no water and no power. Apparently the mayor showed up on the golf course across the street and started giving away food. Hoping I'm not stuck at Jeaux's apartment too much longer, but that's where things stand.
Health Plan Update:
Weight stuff: I didn't take any readings while on vacation and haven't been able to visit the scale while marooned after the hurricane, so I have one reading from when I was home super briefly and that will constitute my high and my low: 114.9.
Nutrition stuff: What's really weird is how I'm managing to still get fruits and veggies in while traveling--it isn't as hard as I thought! It's only more difficult if you stick to really traditional restaurants. I was able to get a decent nutritional balance some of the week, but eating in restaurants does seem to lead to a lot of higher fat meals. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Tuesday at 10,561 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 22,890 steps.
Books Read:
Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
Currently Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. I'm on page 112.
There are a LOT of photos, from New York but here are the faves. There is now also a New York Album to peruse all of them.
Day 4 in New York with Jeaux: Went book shopping, saw SIX on Broadway, and played mini golf at Swingers!
Pizza at Bravo's
Dressed up for Six
Playing golf at Swingers
Playing golf at Swingers
Eating at Swingers
Eating at Swingers
Day 5 in New York with Jeaux: Went to the Museum of Natural History, had dinner at the Peak and enjoyed the Edge observation deck, and had dessert at a trendy shop!
Museum of Natural History
Museum of Natural History
Museum of Natural History
Asian food break
Dinner at the Peak
Dinner at the Peak
Dinner at the Peak
Dinner at the Peak
Dinner at the Peak
Checking out the Edge observation deck
Checking out the Edge observation deck
Checking out the Edge observation deck
Checking out the Edge observation deck
Checking out the Edge observation deck
Checking out the Edge observation deck
Checking out the Edge observation deck
Dessert at Tri Dim West
Dessert at Tri Dim West
Dessert at Tri Dim West
Day 6 in New York with Jeaux: Flying home from New York into Hurricaneville:
Evacuating for Milton
Hotel continental breakfast in Georgia
Working in the hotel room
Sushi meal in Georgia
Social media counts:
YouTube subscribers: 5,456 for swankivy (1 new), 678 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 198 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 833 for swankivy (no change), 3,903 for JulieSondra (no change). Facebook: 295 friends for swankivy (lost 1, no idea who), 640 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (lost 1). Tumblr followers: 2,431 (no change). Instagram followers: 277 (no change). Threads followers: 74 (lost 1).
Saturday I spent some time updating myself on my hurricane-impacted friends and checking in. Did my blogging and started my packing for New York. (I like to pack early.) Did some cleanup in my back yard but not much. Got some walking and reading in. Sent some social messages and texted with my sisters about vacation plans.
Sunday I finished my packing and helped Jeaux with his packing list. Finished cleaning up the back yard for now. Did my usual trash and laundry chores. Did some analysis on what to practice at band practice. Played a game and listened to reactions. Made a Letters to an Asexual video and posted it.
Monday I spent some time looking up utilities for some projects, went to one meeting, and entered timesheet data. I posted my So You Write comic, recorded a song, finished reading a book and posted reviews, and processed my September goals post. Everything went well with my preparations for leaving town.
Tuesday I worked on teaming invites, had two meetings, and helped my boss with documents. Finished editing my So You Write comic. (Every 10th issue I like to do a long one, so this one took a while. It has 20 frames instead of the usual 4. So. Yeah.) Wrangled more weird transphobic comments in that group and got more people banned. Wrote my Negative One webcomic early so I could knock it out and get started on the next one--I'll be traveling next week so everything's getting crunched. Got my steps in cleaning up a bunch of clutter that's accumulated in the house.
Wednesday morning I got up at 3:30 AM and made my last-minute preparations to leave my house for the airport. Everything went according to plan. I got to the airport and met Jeaux there shortly after. We had no trouble with security and had a little airport breakfast before heading out. We managed to get seats together this time but entertained ourselves separately (he watched a movie and I read a book). We arrived in New York City and got a taxi to our hotel. We settled in in our room, which was pretty nice, and then had a lovely quinoa bowl lunch and headed off to stand in line to be in the audience for The Late Show. The waiting wasn't as bad this time as it was the last time and we got to see the taping of Stephen Colbert's show featuring Andrew Garfield and Ina Garten. After the show, we ate at a little restaurant called Harrison's. We were going to watch the airing of the show we'd just taped but we ran into some logistical issues about the next day's plans and ended up trying to solve it for a while. (We did not succeed.) Jeaux had planned for us to ride Amtrak trains out to Pennsylvania but hadn't counted on them suddenly being super expensive if you didn't buy them ahead, and we could not find a way around it.
Thursday we had planned to go to Pennsylvania but thought we weren't going to get to because the prices were crazy. Over breakfast Jeaux found a deal that he was willing to go for if he could count it as a birthday gift. Haha. Well, we decided to go for it. We headed over to the Amtrak station and rode a train for three hours out to Lancaster, and watched a bunch of episodes of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken. When we got to Lancaster, there was an annoying delay getting a Lyft out to the Cartoon Network Hotel, which made us nervous because we were on a tight schedule. We arrived at the hotel--it was cool!--and got a table in the Cartoon Kitchen. Things were taking a while so we decided the best thing to do was have me shop in the gift shop while Jeaux waited at the table for our food. I had some glitches there too and they had to re-ring my whole order (yes, I bought a bunch of Steven Universe stuff--which isn't available anywhere else, which is why I always wanted to go). But I finally got my stuff and got back to the table and ate my grilled cheese sandwich. Then it was back to the train station. We made it with a little more than ten minutes to spare. And on the way back we finished watching Eizouken. We went from there to grab some late dinner at a bowl place and I got a yummy kale/spinach/banana bowl. Then we relaxed in the room and got a good night's sleep.
Friday we had breakfast on the terrace again and I had a sore knee for the day. We chilled in the room for a while and then went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We saw some great stuff--art from all over the world and all eras of human history, and we also saw some musical instruments! We had lunch in the museum's café (a weird number of tater tots were consumed). I was sleepy and my knee hurt so we went back to the hotel a little early and took a two-hour nap! Then we got up, took the train to see the Upright Citizens Brigade's improv show Asssscat, and had a great time doing that. Improv is really fun to watch! I was feeling up to walking home instead of taking the train. We stopped at a yummy restaurant to eat burritos, and after resting at the hotel for a while we went out for ice cream! Then settled in to bed.
Weight stuff: I am not taking any readings while on vacation, but before I left I recorded a high of 114.4 and a low of 113.1.
Nutrition stuff: Despite being on vacation, I'm managing to get my fruits and veggies in! I'm not paying much attention to nutrient balance or anything but I'm looking for opportunities to include fruits and vegetables in the things I'm grabbing at vacation spots. (And for the first half of the week I did well with finishing off the fresh produce before leaving town.) I am still regularly taking vitamins.
Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Sunday at 10,656 steps, and my high day was Friday at 18,088 steps.
Books Read:
Finished Reading: The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik. Five-star review.
Currently Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. I'm on page 112.
Letters to an Asexual #118 is out! In this video, someone opines that asexual activists are only being treated poorly because they're so aggressive toward heterosexual people. And also, diversity initiatives are about legally discriminating against heterosexual people. Wow!
New photos:
Hurricane Helene yard waste aftermath:
There are a LOT of photos from the New York trip so far, but here are the faves. Later there will be a completed New York vacation page to browse, but here are these for now.
Day 1 in New York with Jeaux: Plane ride, outside the Colbert show, walking in the city at night:
Plane to New York!
Outside the Late Show with Stephen Colbert!
Late-night city life
Day 2 in New York with Jeaux: Breakfast on the terrace, Amtrak train ride out to Lancaster to see the Cartoon Network Hotel, where I bought a bunch of SU merch!
Breakfast on the Terrace
Amtrak station!
Amtrak station
Train to Pennsylvania
My train trip
Cartoon Network Hotel's Steven Universe merch
Me buying stuff
Eating in Cartoon Kitchen
Merch haul
CN Hotel
CN Logo
Day 3 in New York with Jeaux: Asssscat show at UCB and burritos and ice cream after!
