Hurricane Irene did what few storms do to the East Coast. She came along and caused havoc. It wasn't that she was too strong a storm, or too rainy, or too windy. She decided, like many powerful women before, that she would blaze her own trail and forget the path that was laid out for her.

Irene was suppose to come up the coast and either make a glancing blow off of Florida or the Carolinas before smacking the end of Long Island on her way up to Boston. Well being a real child of Mother Nature, Irene decided to just go for broke and slammed herself into the Carolinas and then make her own way north. She came through Nassau and Brooklyn, letting her winds and rain play a little havoc across the rest of Long Island while she decided to mosey on up the Hudson River Valley instead of the course every computer and weather man had predicted. Irene just was determined to have her own way and wasn't going to listen to anyone.

You might say Irene really knew how to blow. She managed to knock out over 440,000 privates homes without power before 9am this morning. Two blocks south of me had been evacuated, and by three blocks south most were without power. My own power, internet, and cable were rolling on and off as it came in and out. Felt like it was the tide. Here one moment and gone the next. Walking around in my yard I knew how lucky i had been. There were just a few branches down and no trees fell to take out my house or car. So Irene might be causing major headaches for others but not so for me. Granted she knocked out power just as I was about to take a morning shower but I had one just before bed so that was a minor problem. There wasn't much I could say was wrong at the moment. Then came that thing called work.

I've complained before about work. What can I tell you? I use to love going in when I worked up in Connecticut. However since I transferred down to the island it has been nothing but a pain in the tush. They seem to have no little concern for the people who work there for them. I mean when you for a major company you expect them to at least consider what is best for those they have working there.

If you turned on the television to ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, or even the local channel on 12 you were told to please stay off the streets. There are trees, limbs, and other liter all over the place. They want only emergency vehicles on the road if at all possible. We were told to watch the local store twitter account for updates as to when to be at work. The first told the early morning crew to be in for eight. That was then changed to 9, then 10, and finally all crew were to be in at 11am. Considering I was suppose to start work at noon I left at 11am to make sure I had enough time to get there.

You know you are going to have one of those days when a sheriff's car pulls you over. No, not for speeding or not following the road rules, but to ask why on earth you are on the road at all. So I had to explain that I was on my way to work. One look at my outfit and he knew I wasn't a doctor, nurse, or anyone in the police force. So needless to say I wasn't what was expected on the roads. Thank god he just shook his head and let me go on to work.

I got there at 11:45 am. We were suppose to open at noon. We had a customer right away. Yes you risk everything to run out in a storm to buy ..... a computer bag. Yeah, it makes no sense to me either. Then the power went out and we closed down for an hour. People kept calling to see if we were open. But the comments and things that happen during a storm drive me nuts. People wanting to know why they can't make a return on a item they bought four months ago. You explain that there is only a thirty day return period and you hear but there is a storm so you should just take anything back. What? How does that make any sort of sense at all? People are just really strange, and the wildest ones come out when the smart ones stay home.

Grand total I think I might have done twenty returns in the nearly six hours we were actually open. in plain English the company spent more in payroll, power, and water to open up then they would have just paying the employees for the day and keeping the store closed. One of those penny wise, dollar foolish moments.

I came home after a trying seven hours to make a quick meal for myself. My internet is still spotty. Not sure how long till all the wires will be fixed. So that is about all I have to say. Irene made a mess and my job took advantage of me. Wish I could say I had someone around to make it all better but still single. LOL. Anyway, I have work early in the morning so going to conclude this blog and head off to bed.

For all the other survivors of Irene, I hope your problems were small and you too have not a hell of a lot to complain about. If you had more I hope you and your family have survived in tack and whatever loss you suffer is something that can be replaced or repaired. My best wishes and prayers go out to you all.