By: Gabriela Yareliz
For accurate Hurricane Sandy reporting: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-31-2012/hurricane-sandy-s-aftermath?xrs=share_copy
The value of a soul
By: Ellen G. White
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” He is the only One that had power to do it. Here the great price has been paid for souls sunk in sin. Man must be of value. Christ weighs him. Christ’s taking human nature upon Himself shows that He places a value upon every soul. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” This is the value God places upon man, and again He says, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” But God will do nothing without the co-operation of the human agent. – {Te 287.1}
We are all woven together in the web of humanity. The evil that befalls any part of the great human brotherhood brings peril to all. – {Te 208.2}
Move
“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
— Anthony Bourdain
In a ridiculous Salman Khan kind of a mood.
By: Gabriela Yareliz
As I study and freeze, I find myself in this weird, ridiculous Salman Khan dance kind of a mood. So, to relieve stress here are some of his greatest that are spinning through my mind.
Katrina Kaif felt let down that a certain dance didn’t work out as she rehearsed, because Salman didn’t do his moves correctly. Salman Khan told Komal Nahta that when he dances he wants the kid in the wheelchair to be able to copy his moves.
“Me as a dancer, there is nobody better…I’ll tell you what, I want people, kids, who can’t walk to do my steps.” (18:20 interview)-Salman Khan, justifying his not rehearsing and just fist pumping between beats in Mashallah.
Oh Salman… he is lucky he is gorgeous and can get away with his randomness.
Lower East Side: Alphabet City through my eyes
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Here is a photographic journey through the Lower East Side and my wanderings. On Sabbath, we passed out hot food, and we went to the Washington Square Park, but also hit up the East Village. When I saw the devastation there, I decided to go back and document.
Welcome to Alphabet City.
Volunteers at the Thompkins Square Park. They are going to check on the elderly and take them food and water. Some parts of the neighborhood have no power, others have power but no water.
Cleaning out flooded homes and restaurants. People had masks on. The smell was pretty bad. Many lost a lot, or close to everything.
Flooded restaurant pumping out the water.
Con Ed, thank you for your tireless hours and for working hard to try to restore power.
People getting fed by the Mercy Chefs. Note: The sun is actually out 🙂
Boxes of food.
Waiting for food.
Flood waters remain. You can see the waterline on many cars.
The walls of Alphabet City.
My flag on the wall.
City sidewalks; dirty sidewalks…
Not sure what was happening, but they had an emergency heating unit here. It is really cold, and everything was dark, so I am assuming these people had no power.
“Con Ed, send inspector; We are ready for electricity”
If you want to stock up on groceries… tough luck. This is at Gristedes, but it is pretty much the same view anywhere you go…
A SPECIAL THANKS TO: All of the friends and family who kept us all in their prayers while we continued in the dark and cold. Keep praying for those who still have no power, whose neighborhoods are a mess and for those who have lost all. Your prayers mean so much. It was your prayers that kept us going and keep us going.
God bless.
South East Champions–Go Gators!
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Congratulations Gator Cricket Club!!!! South East Champions, second year in a row. 🙂
I had to post, because I am the team’s #1 fan.
This was the team last year. It has changed quite a bit, but hey, a team reflects all of its players, present or absent; the dedication, influence and what the players have taught each other.
American College Cricket is slow to update, but I am sure the website will post the scores.
Hurricane Sandy hits and the days after
By: Gabriela Yareliz
Hello beautiful friends!
My story begins with empty rooms and a lobby filled with students clutching their candles and flashlights.
This is how we arrive to the scene:
It has been such a long while. Well– not really; but kind of. It has been a crazy week to say the least. After my last post, about ten minutes later, we lost power. Almost immediately after losing power, some windows from a neighboring building blew out, so darkness was followed by a startling crash of shattering glass.
Darkness followed; a couple of trips up and down the stairs with a candle. I got candle wax on some corduroy pants (no idea how to get it out, I keep rubbing it which I think makes it worse). We were in the dark and cold for seven days. There was no power, no warm water, no heater (and it was freezing outside), no phone signal and no internet. That whole week, we were in the midst of disaster, and we had no idea how bad it was because none of us had communication to the outside world. We were really blessed. It could have been worse. The flooding didn’t reach us, but it was about 6 blocks away.
Anyway, here are some images and bits and pieces of what kept us going while Sandy was ripping the city to shreds.
-Psalm 38: 9,10, 15
“Lord all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me; as for the light in my eyes, it also is gone from me. For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.”
My mom sent me these verses: Psalm 91: 15 & 16
“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”
One of the only places open the morning after. They were selling coffee (the fix for the desperate New Yorkers) and hot breakfast sandwiches.
Street View
I was so blessed this week with a friend of mine who was gracious to let me come with him to his dad’s office in midtown so we could try to study in warmth with light and charge our devices. This was the only place I’d get signal. We would walk almost 40 blocks a day to get there. Who knew Midtown and Times Square were so close? Past 34th St. Manhattan was a different world. Even H&M was open down there. Walking up 5th Ave. was magical in its own way. I saw the Flatiron building, Eataly, a nice park that was closed, but the sunshine would go through the trees. The sky was gray, but it seemed that at that park, there was always sunshine. The streets were empty and dirty. Oxford Cafe has the best Eggplant Panini. I sat there one day eating in slow motion, so I could enjoy the heat and light. I shared a table with two young people who work in a real estate office nearby. I met a nice Punjabi gentleman who works there.
Con Ed people were everywhere. Trucks from all over the country took over Union Square. By Thursday, I began to get signal in front of a virgin Mary look alike at the park (it would make anyone catholic, nah? Kidding). Saigon Market on University Place had a charging station. They were also super nice.
People pulled together. Because devices and technology were down; people actually talked to each other. We sat in rooms together playing games, talking in the dark lobby, sharing food the university was providing–we met our neighbors and chattered nervously with people in line, realizing we had the same hopes.
Guys stopped shaving, girls had no makeup and stringy hair (because rumor had it, the water was contaminated, and it was coming out orange)….we had philosophical conversations, played 20 questions and truth or dare. God helped us through.
On Sabbath morning the building next door had lights. I was trying to get ready by my open window, trying to get some light (but it wasn’t working–my room is dark even during the day without light). When I noted the next door building’s lights I thought to myself, Have I been living this whole morning as if I had no power, but we do? I ran to the light switch and flipped it, and nothing. What a disappointment.
When the power came on this is how I felt!!! (One of my favorite songs to jam to)
kajra re kajra re tere kare kare naina
In the end, all izz well– and it is amazing how God can keep us sane despite the frustration of being in the dark always, and how Bollywood can light the darkest of days. A song in your heart– I can’t tell you enough how important it is to keep one there for the dark, cold days.
I hope people don’t forget how to be human, how we can uplift each other by talking to one another…
Now, with the power, heat and internet, the lobby is empty, and the rooms are filled.
Hurricane Sandy: Waiting for the tide
By: Gabriela Yareliz
(Below is my screen shot while watching the Weather Channel)
7:40 p.m.
Here we are. This morning, the people across the street were watching Spongebob (their window was open). Now, they are watching the Weather Channel like the rest of us. I have been watching all day. I like how professors still expect you to read. Like we can focus in a time of emergency. They are apparently not in Manhattan too? OR IN ANY OF THE 8 STATES BEING AFFECTED! It is like there is nowhere to go. Virginia is under snow, and it won’t stop snowing. New Jersey is underwater. Boston has billboards falling, Penn is shut down, Conneticut and Rhode Island have new lakes (former parking lots), and Manhattan has a crane dangling from a building and NY has 600,000 + without power. Chicago is even experiencing amazing waves. THE GREAT LAKES. North Carolina has flooding. Shall I continue?
This is incredible. That is what the weathermen have been saying all day as the wind blows their hoods off, and they try to open their eyes while looking at the camera. It is incredible to see as conditions have changed in the same places throughout the day. One more hour for high tide. I want to see how much the water will rise. I have a bag packed so if I have to run up a couple floors, I can.
I have been nervously eating Kbars (which I got yesterday after my self-defense class–yes, I can break your nose or worse), apples and macaronis with cashew cheese (that I made with my mom’s yummy recipe). I will be 5 pounds heavier by the end of the week. Kidding. Thank God Con Ed hasn’t shut down power in my area.
It is crazy, but I haven’t heard any rain. The wind has been howling, but no wind so far. I am tired of hearing weather channel music. I am amazed that someone woke up one morning and said they wanted to be the guy getting blown across a platform during a storm, but God bless them.
8:11 p.m. “Hurricane Sandy’s Devastation Imminent”– who told that person the headline was calming and informative? Talk about raising panic. Battery Park is flooding. The Weather Channel is still super excited about the tide, as if they want it to be worse than Irene. They say the East Village is flooded up to E. 14th Street. That means flooding might reach Union Square and Gandhi… 
Lights are flickering…
James Bruno (Commissioner, NYC OEM): “We are 30-35 min. of the peak of high tides… winds at 60-70 mph… A lot of flooding.”
And we wait… which is what we have been doing all day.
Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.
Eternity
“When you understand eternity–you define existence.”
Ravi Zacharias
GABRIELA YARELIZ 