TWO DAYS IN THE BASEMENT

It's funny, I've taken shelter inside a university building while an unexpected disaster grips the city outside, I've had limited food to eat for the last 36 hours, no change of clothes, no toothbrush, I've had to sleep among strangers--and I can't help thinking my life has become dull. A less-than-palatable summer TV schedule. Stuck in perpetual repeats.

As you probably know by now, a major power failure hit the northeastern United States yesterday. Whether the blackout area was even more extensive I cannot say. Internet has only recently been restored, and reports on the news sites claim blackouts occurred as far into the central United States as Ohio. Where was I when the lights went out? Like most people, at work in midtown. One minute, it was business as usual; the next, we're filing carefully down twelve flights of stairs in near-darkness to the street outside. We certainly weren't the only ones.

The sight of large masses of people exiting Manhattan all at once brought back shades of the World Trade Center attack less than two years ago. However, everyone seemed calmer on the whole this time around. Strange, but there seemed to be more shock and alarm on peoples' faces when police told them we WEREN'T under a new terrorist attack. What this says about New Yorkers nowadays, I cannot say. I was too busy blaming terrorists at the time, and did not give it much thought.

My colleagues both lived on the upper West side, and they planned to take taxis to get back to their respective apartments. I decided to turn down 7th Avenue and walk to Union Square. From there I planned to go to Bobst Library, which I had once heard had its own generator. An hour or so later, I arrived at Bobst. As I expected, the lights were on, as the building ran on its independant power supply. Correction: the sub-basements and the lobby were running. The upper floors were left dark, so as not to tax the generator.

I stayed around the "bus station," nickname for the lounge adjacent to Bobst, always open to the public. From there, I could see that the streetlamps outside had yet to come back online. Nor were the subways running, according to a nearby radio. Luckily for me, the NYU ID scanner was also offline, so I could flash my outdated NYU ID card, and that would be enough to gain access. I went to sub-basement A, which was stuffy (the air-conditioning was probably cut back as well), but well-lit.

A sidenote: I consider myself very lucky to have been able to gain access to Bobst Library. My home is in Marine Park, Brooklyn, and if not for the interventions of Providence, I would have had to traverse the lower east side, then cross the Williamsburg Bridge, in order to reach the appropriate bus. Meanwhile, I did not have enough money for a taxi, and outgoing traffic over the bridges, I have heard, was bumper-to-bumper.

I spent the night, last night, in sub-basement A. I am still here in sub-basement A, waiting to hear when the subways will start running again. As I write this, electricity has been restored to the city. Perhaps in another six to nine hours, the subways will be restored as well. I should turn in for a good night's sleep, then check again in the morning.

There are accommodations here at Bobst for homeless souls like myself. Plenty of fold-out cots--actually sheets of green canvas stretched between crossed metal tentpoles. They feel a lot like hammocks. Cotton pillows, and 100% acryllic green blankets. Scratchy and uncomfortable, but better than nothing. We get plenty of Poland Springs bottled water (the official beverage of Blackout 2003!), enough to last us weeks. Food, however, is limited to Nutri-grain fruit bars or yogurt bars. I've eaten five of them today, and according to the wrapper, they are an excellent source of Vitamin C and calcium. They are hardly the makings of a nourishing meal, but they are all we have, since the restaurants and stores around campus remain closed.

There is, however, plenty of intellectual nourishment available. Sub-basement A is adjacent to the leisure reading shelves, and it seems I have plenty of time on my hands! So far, I have read John Burdett's Bangkok 8, a well-written thriller, and I'm currently reading an Elmore Leonard novel. Like I said, plenty of time on my hands!

My recent ordeal may sound like the makings of quite an adventure. Yet in my opening paragraph, I described my life as seeming stagnant. You see, I spent quite a few nights in hurricane shelters when I lived in Miami. The shelter was in my college campus, so I suppose I've gotten used to these kinds of accommodations. (Although, back in Miami, I had time to pack a toothbrush!) I feel I've stayed in enough emergency domiciles, and I wouldn't mind a different kind of excitement. How about the thrills of finally renting my own place? I'll probably get to experience that once I start grad school this fall. I'll have to get out of this basement first, however...