Although I arrived in New York City on Saturday afternoon, I’m just now getting around to blogging about it for several reasons:

• After working all day I have little motivation to stare at a computer screen in the evening.
• NYC is way too big to spend time in my dinky room when I could be out exploring
• Its been too long since I’ve typed out any thoughts at all, so it seems awkward
• I got struck by lightning and my computer was fried

Wait, what? Struck by lightning? Yup, struck by lightning.

Here’s the story:

After arriving to my apartment in Williamsburg and chating with my weird roommates (more on that later) I decided to flip on the A/C to de-humidify my room.  While I was waiting for it to chill, I sat at my desk sweating my ass off researching local grocery stores on my computer that I had just plugged in.  As I was researching, the thunder storm began and rain poured out of the sky.  Naturally, the windows in my room weren’t made to keep the weather out, so rain dripped through every conceivable crack and started to dampen my already humid room. Annoyed that I was still sweating, I stood up and walked to the A/C (two steps away) to feel if the air was any cooler. For this next part of the story, imagine that it is being played out in slow motion, because that is exactly how I remember it.

I reached my hand out and placed my fingers in front of the vent.  With three inches to go before I was actually touching the A/C, a huge flash of light that seemed to come from the vent flashed and blinded me.  Instantly there was a deafening crack followed instantly by roaring thunder!

That’s right, lightning had struck my A/C (or gutter, or something in the immediate vicinity).  I recoiled immediately and my heart jumped to my throat.  After I made sure I didn’t soil myself, I quickly made a check of the appliances in my room to see if they were still operational.  A/C: check. Lights: check. Clock: check. Radio: check. Computer: ….

Shit.

After a two hour trip to the Apple Store, a “I’ve never seen this before”, and two days waiting,  I’m now back in action with a fixed computer.