Anyone have an extra couch?

So, anyone who says Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee were “weak” get to find me a hotel room within 100 miles of the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) I’ve just been assigned to.  I’ll even transfer all my hotel points to you in gratitude for you disaster unawareness.

Okay fine, even I was unaware of widespread impact of these disasters when I rolled into town over a week ago.  Now tonight, as my FEMA travel agent tells me she cannot find a hotel for me, even in Pennsylvania, I’ve become even more acutely aware of the situation.  The situation being, I have to check out of my current hotel tomorrow (with still no new hotel to check into), drive over 150 miles to our new location, work 12 hours in a “soft” opening of the DRC in Broome County, and potentially drive 100 miles on to the nearest lodging afterward.  Lol. I can only laugh at this point:  even in Africa I knew where I was going to stay the next night.  It may have been completely infested with mosquitoes and fleas, but hey, it was a place to rest.

All that being vented about, my current accommodations are really good:  I have a TV that I’m currently watching MNF on, a working AC, a clean bed, housekeepers who don’t wear my shoes around when I’m gone (at least that I catch redhanded), and cheap laundry.  The hotel’s dry cleaners seem to have lost my dry cleaning order from a few days ago, but that’s okay, I’m sure I’ll see that cardigan again someday.  On Ebay.

As for what I’ve currently been doing at the JFO in Albany, not enough to write home, or blog about.  When I arrived, official disaster assessments were still being conducted and we were all basically put into a holding pattern until all the assessments were completed.  As official paperwork was submitted, county by county, DRC’s were set up and FEMA employees were sent out to staff them.  FYI, the DRC’s are locations set up in each county with a federally-declared disaster where disaster survivors can apply for FEMA assistance.  Although I am not looking forward too much to the drive and hotel situation tomorrow, and likely the next several days, I have to say I am happy to be assigned out of the JFO and onto the actual front lines where I can work with those directly affected by the disasters.

Anyway, there appears to be a MNF blowout on TV that requires my full attention now.  I’ll try to update this when FEMA finds my DRC coworkers and I a place to stay.