Surviving Sandy: A How To Guide.

I originally intended to publish a post on Halloween and pumpkin picking and spiked apple cider and all the goodies surrounding the beginning, middle and end of fall BUT a woman named Sandy got in the way and ripped the power right out from under me.  She left me carrying candles around in a daze without technology.  She forced me to sit by the fire amongst friends and go back to the days where fun emerged purely from whatever I could muster up.  We played cards, lots of cards.  We drank beers, lots of beers.  We cooked with headlamps and candles.  We stayed in pajamas for days.  We sat wondering what the rest of the world was up to.  We loved every single minute of the freedom from political commercials.  We heard Halloween was cancelled – how does that happen?  We rejoiced when the power came back on.  Oh Sandy, you destroyed a lot of the Northeast.  Oh Sandy, you’re a total bitch.

I developed a bad case of cabin-fever.  I can’t sit still at work so how does one expect me to sit at home for days on end without endless amounts of things to get done?  Well, you see, here’s how it’s done (in no particular order) …

1. Get the fireplace going.

2. Drink a few beers.

3. Work out.   If you ever find yourself stuck, technology-less, in a home for days on end with nothing to do and need a way to expend some energy here is the workout I concocted (I’m calling this workout “The Sandy”):

Run through the entire routine and repeat 3x

Circuit 1:  20 supermen; 15 triceps’ dips; 10 jump squats; 60 seconds burpees

Circuit 2:  20 side lunges; 15 reverse crunches; 10 push ups; 60 seconds jumping jacks

Circuit 3:  20 calf raises; 15 bridges hip raises; 10 sun salutations/ reverse warrior II (round 2)/ cat-cow (round 3); 60 seconds plank/ side plank (rounds 2 and 3 opposite sides)

I will warn you that it is a KILLER workout and I advise you put on the Pandora station “Dance Cardio Radio”.  It will help you make it through the 45-minute workout.  Today I’m doing yoga to recover.

4. Play poker.

5. Play cards.

6. Read.

7. Nap

8. Clean

9. Go for a walk to survey the damage around the neighborhood post-storm. (Be aware of downed wires and any trees that look a little sketchy)

10. Set up a command center for when the power and internet return.  After all, we must see AP Photos of the damage we, thankfully, didn’t incur, check email, alert the social media community that we are indeed okay, catch up on the blogs we read, see what else is going on in the world and get bombarded by political ads.

For those of you affected by Hurricane Sandy, I hope you did not suffer too much damage and your power is back up and running.

~ by Hilary Walsh on November 1, 2012.