I am an evolutionary biologist and freelance writer who lives in NYC. For nearly three years, I sought a second postdoc or a tenure-track position, and then I began searching for anything at all so I could simply survive, but I remain unemployed. In my previous life, when I had a meaningful career and self-respect, I was fond of writing, reading, birding, exploring museums, sailing, hiking and listening to music. The early years of this blog can be found 
666? The Mark of the Beast? The End Times? Or is 666 the emergency number for the local fire department?
My neighborhood is going crazy tonight, setting off a gazillion firecrackers -- they're burning up more firecrackers than they do even on Independence Day or New Year's Eve, in fact. Nevermind the fact that fireworks are illegal in NYC, but firecrackers, being comprised of a much greater amount of dynamite, are even more illegal, if that's even possible.
And this stuff is really expensive, too. At least half of my neighbors are unemployed (including me), so where did they get all this money, such that they can literally set it aflame? Why are they doing this?
Because I am out of the loop, it took awhile before it dawned on me that tomorrow is the Rapture (but I thought it was last week sometime? or was it last month? or maybe it was 28 October 1992? or ... ??). It's "the Rapture of the Week", as I think of it these days.
Because my neighborhood is obsessively, mind-numbingly Catholic, they believe that tomorrow is the Rapture, so they apparently feel obligated to go insane celebrating this fantasy by setting off mountains of firecrackers. In fact, I'll bet there is more dynamite in my neighborhood being blown up tonight than there is in all of Fallujah. I just hope they don't set the entire neighborhood on fire because, if I believe them, that means I will be the only one stuck here in the morning, so guess who will be stuck cleaning up the smoking ruins?
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Oh I hope you keep us posted, there maybe more then a few that will need to know what is going on!! LOL!!
thanks goodness we only have Barn Owls and a begging owlet to disturb us tonight!!
Posted by: Dawn | June 6, 2006 01:37 AM
Us, too. I live in Inwood, and there has been an incredible amount of fireworks going off tonight. But it kind of looks like it's going off across the Harlem R - at least from my fire escape viewpoint.
Posted by: Brian | June 6, 2006 01:48 AM
Well, look at the bright side of it - if the Rapture comes and you remain the only person i nthe neighborhood, you won't have to worry about rent anymore.
Posted by: Alon Levy | June 6, 2006 02:38 AM
24 hours later and my neighborhood is intact, anyway, and i didn't have to clean up the aftermath. that's a good thing, right?
i still wonder if these "rapture" believers were so confident in the word of jeebus that they decided not to pay their rent or show up to work today?
nah, not so! even they know, deep down inside, that religion is a big, fat, hairy lie.
Posted by: GrrlScientist | June 6, 2006 11:22 PM
Well, I turned on the radio this morning and the BBC made no mention of any mass disappearances ... I guess the world goes on. Wrong date or something (maybe it's the whole Gregorian Calendar thing? it was 11 days ago! er, it wasn't, I mean... whatever)
Sigh. Now I guess we have to listen to the reasons yesterday wasn't special... or else the dire predictions for some poor kid actually born yesterday.
Posted by: theRidger | June 7, 2006 05:34 AM
See this post over at the Carnival of the Godless! Thanks for the submission!!
Posted by: Cassandra | June 11, 2006 09:04 AM