Rationing

I mentioned yesterday that my bat phone rang and that I was headed to a new work assignment. Well, my travels have landed me in New York! The last time that I worked here I was in Buffalo, NY in 2006. Now I am working about 25 minutes outside of New York City. Hopefully I’ll be able to take in some of the sights and visit some people that I know once things get settled for me.

This morning I awoke to gas rationing being the main topic of conversation. Beginning this morning gas is being rationed based on the license plate numbers on the vehicle: if it is an odd numbered date (like today, November 9^th) license plate numbers that end in an odd number (and cars with vanity plates) can get gas; on even numbered dates vehicles with license plate numbers that end in an even number can get gas. The exceptions to this are people who have portable containers to secure gas and commercial vehicles.

Of course, according to the local news, no one feels this is fair. There are lots of different situations and scenarios: What if a person doesn’t get paid until a certain date and they can’t get gas when they need it? What about people who are in sales and drive a lot? Talk about the need to plan your trips wisely!

And what’s really unbelievable is that hundreds of thousands of people still do not have power! It’s my understanding that one of the power companies on Long Island is the biggest problem as to why people don’t have power. And at this point it has been a week and a half since the storm occurred.

It’s at times like these that I realize just how much I take for granted being able to fuel up when I need to or being able to have electricity. Let’s hope that all of these problems are resolved quickly!