Murphy's Law on the Eve of Hurricane Irene

26 August 2011 is a memorable day for my sister, niece and me. Our day plan could not be simpler: they would pick me up at Cedar Manor at 2:00 pm, then we would shop at Flushing and drop some necessities at the niece's dorm. By 6pm, The sister would resume her lab work and I, join Mama.

Little did we know that our car had a flat tire the moment it was on Whitestone Bridge. I had never experienced such a deafening sound while talking to my brother who was on his way to China. We stopped at the first legal stopping place, to call AAA for road service. Our waiting period turned out to be a stretch of 4 hours, for we did not realize that AAA was unable to service any cars on freeway in Queens. The local contractor we contacted only rendered oral promises but never materialized in person. Finally a pass-by toll truck driver came to advise and helped us to back into a local street.

Acting upon the advice from the tire changer that the spare tire could not sustain more than 30 minutes, we found ourselves at the deserted Enterprise HQ at 10 minutes before 6 pm. Fortunately a manager in charge happened to leave for the day and sent us to a nearest rental agency to replace the rental car. Once we arrived at the agency, the agent was not too thrilled to see us. It was closing time, but he was still working his way with two other customers. After 40 minutes' waiting, we were finally being served. But the result was a surprise: the agent produced a mountainful of paperwork for my sister to sign and insurance company to call. According to him, our car was scratched on the side, and tire was sliced by a knife. After contacting her insurance and refusing to sign any faulty reports, the sister drove us away with a new car.

It was 7:00 pm, and the bridge was still busy. At this point, we all decided that we needed to shop for our mental therapy and physical needs. So we headed towards Flushing to brave ourselves with extra long shopping lines, hot and flooded underground parking floors. It was at a crowded gas station that it dawned on us why everywhere was busy, and everyone was stressed: it was the eve of Hurricane Irene.

With a big sign of relief, we left NYC for the quiet and dry Westchester. At 12:00 am my niece and I were waiting patiently for my sister to finish her lab work. At 2:00 am we were back home, exhausted by a series of unfortunate events. I never joined Mama at her manor the previous day.