I miss my kitchen.

I am one of the 1.7 million PSE&G customers that lost power during hurricane Sandy. As I write this at 1:30 pm on Saturday, November 3rd, I am one of the remaining PSE&G customers that has not had power restored to my home. For me, this means that since approximately 6:00 pm the night of the storm, I have had no electricity, heat, or functioning stove/oven.

I'm sure there are people who have had it far worse than myself while dealing with the aftermath of the storm. I consider myself fortunate to still have my home intact and all of my belongings with me. My mom and brother in Jersey City are also safe with power completely restored and no flooding in their building.

That being said, I have not been enjoying living life as a temporary drifter. I have been waking up to go to the mall for breakfast (thank you to the crews at Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks for dealing with my uncaffeinated attitude), then I hang around my gym to work out and use their electricity/hot water, followed by hanging out at the mall/working at my retail job. I've been eating at DD and Starbucks for breakfast, then eating a foot long sub from Subway for lunch and dinner.

Yesterday I cleaned out my fridge. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate to waste food, so to throw out all the fruit and veggies that I just bought last week bothered me so much. I didn't throw it all out, though...I found a bell pepper and some broccoli that still looked good, so at least I can put those to good use when I can cook again.

With tonight's real feel low of 23 degrees, I am unsure of what to do if my heat is not turned back on in time. I hesitate to go to Jersey City because of the gas shortage. I feel at a loss.

Any of you compelled to make a monetary donation for hurricane relief, please contact the American Red Cross. To donate goods, contact any fire department in Monmouth County.