stormy weather

We're being hit by a tropical storm! How cool is that? Not exactly something I could ever claim when I lived in Wisconsin. I love a good storm, so when I heard that Tropical Storm Hanna was making its way up the East Coast I was pretty excited (assuming, of course, that everybody involved would remain safe).

Last night, on my walk home, I could actually sense the storm approaching. The wind was different. It felt heavy, like it was bearing down from above. The clouds, lower than usual, were churning -- and moving in from the east. Storms here almost always come from the west -- we love standing on the 125th Street subway platform-slash-bridge to watch the black thunderheads and columns of rain come in across the Hudson.

Luckily, Tropical Storm Hanna doesn't seem hazardous (except to shoes and pant-legs), but this is the longest rain we've had in many months (so far more than six hours). Strangely, and unfortunately, it isn't producing any thunder and lightning. Maybe we'll get some during the remainder of the storm (as we can see, there's more coming, thanks to our friends at The Weather Channel).

This afternoon I rode down to 34th Street with Ian, who was on his way to work, to check out Macy's Lowest Prices of the Season sale, and happened to notice that the clouds continue to be particularly low. The skinny building in the center of the photo is the Empire State Building. I'd say about 1/3 of it is immersed in clouds, which is why you probably didn't recognize it (and why I had to google images for "Macy's Empire State Building" to make sure it really was the ESB).

I love cool weather phenomena! Maybe autumnal temperatures will follow Hanna. (By the way, don't forget to vote for your favorite season in this week's poll located in the right column!)

Lastly, I'm sure you're all wondering: Ian is really enjoying his job. The restaurant is doing a slow open, so the staff is able to practice on a smaller number of patrons before their grand opening. The only thing neither of us likes about Ian's job is that he's been working exclusively evening shifts, so we rarely get to see each other (he comes home well after midnight). I trust things will seem better once the restaurant starts to publish the schedule on a regular basis. Until now it's been a day-by-day thing, so we can never make plans and I'm still getting used to that. Thankfully we have text messaging!

What ways do you deal when you and a loved one have to spend a lot of time apart? Leave a comment!