a week in Chicago

Thank you to those of you who wrote to see how I was faring in Hurricane Sandy! I wasn’t even here for it, actually; I was stuck in Chicago after Vogue Knitting LIVE wrapped up! So while Jason was walking the streets of Brooklyn scoping out downed trees, I was paying visits to the Bean in Millennium Park.

It wasn’t all fun and games, of course—being stranded means feeling helpless and trapped even if you’re in a fantastic city full of friends, at a lovely hotel, with a per diem for food. My coworkers and I (7 of us were stuck there) spent a lot of time wandering the hotel, sitting on hold with American Airlines, and glued to our phones reading Twitter for all the latest news. I am so grateful to live in this information age, especially because cell service was really bad in Brooklyn so calling or texting Jason wasn’t a reliable way of getting updates. Thankfully our apartment suffered no damage (we had a lot of water damage after Hurricane Irene) and never lost power. And I’ll admit it: My coworkers and I were able to make the most of 3 full additional (free) days in Chicago! We had deep-dish pizza, we went to the top of the Sears Tower, and we were sure to get an Italian beef. There are worse ways to be stranded, plus now I have a ton of new underwear!

Please donate to the Red Cross if you can. Seaside Heights was hit hard; my whole family is particularly devastated to see the sights completely destroyed.