Life Post Hurricane Sandy

It’s been more than three months since hurricane Sandy slammed the Big Apple. On our side of the world, life has never been the same again. With so much infrastructure to repair, we are not yet living normal like the way we used to be.

We still have scheduled power failures. Out of the six elevators in our building, only three are currently working, and one of the five high rise in our property is still powered by generators. It didn’t help that in that building, there was a fire of unknown cause a few weeks ago. The recovery teams have long been gone, the dehumidifiers are now nowhere to be seen and the lobby has been re-painted although, I don’t see the elaborate painting techniques on the walls like it used to be.

Aside from being displaced from our home for almost three weeks, our biggest lost from the storm was our vehicle – Cordie. We have since moved on from Cordie to Sexie. After a few weeks of waiting, we were more than happy to welcome this ‘baby’ right before Christmas. When our Client Advisor informed us that Sexie was already at the barge (all the way from Germany), we made an appointment so we can finally accept the delivery and turn over our rental car.

Okay, Sexie was my choice (make and model), but the color (as well as features and options) was my husband’s. Orange is his favorite color (for me, orange is just nice) and he didn’t mind forking out a bit more to get the color that he prefers.

It’s been a few weeks since we had Sexie and we still haven’t gotten used to driving without engaging a key into the ignition. I still find myself reaching for a key to stop the engine, only to realize that all I need to do is press the button. The Comfort Access System finally put an end to searching for my car key in my handbag and pocket because the unique key is recognized remotely by the comfort access sensors within 1.5 meters. I simply touch the door handle and the door unlocks, and all doors automatically lock  by pressing the exterior door handle.

The Automatic engine start/stop function helps save fuel and it’s really good for the kind of traffic that we have here in New York. The system switches off the engine during a stop, and the engine starts automatically when you drive away. It just sounds weird though because the engine goes off even on a red light. I feel paranoid sometimes, so I end up deactivating it especially during short runs.

And, we are driving without a spare tire too. With BMW’s run flat tire, the tires continue to perform their function even if all air pressure is lost. The heat-resistant rubber compound is able to withstand additional heat build-up so you can continue driving for up to 150 km at a speed of up to 80 km/h without any significant loss in vehicle stability.

Heated seats (just like Cordie) come in handy, and the heated steering wheel is a delight during these wintry months (something Cordie didn’t have).

And the microfilter(removes dust and pollen from incoming air) is awesome for allergy sufferers like me.

What can be a better car accessory than this citrine rosary (crafted by a breast cancer survivor) given as a gift to me by my SIL.

And for my Holiday present from my husband, he got me something that matches Sexie’s color…

An orange Goyard St. Louis tote.

See? He loves orange!