This facebook posting from a friend says it all....

While Virginia closes up all schools & businesses because its raining & blowing 25-30 mph... our counterparts in WV have schools open with blizzard conditions... and we make fun of them.

It's a huge triumph of science that meteorologists are able to track hurricanes days in advance. There is so much they can tell us now about the nature of hurricanes, their intensity, and their path. In the past, people might only have hours or less warning before getting slammed.
As much as the forecasting abilities have improved, it is still not (and probably never will be) an exact science. They knew the regions of the east coast that would be impacted. They could not give exact locations. As it turned out, our impact was less than further north.

The "trade off" of the improved forecasts is that sometimes an area might be over prepared.

I think that's an easy trade off.

Part of the reasons things went well in this area is that they did go ahead and close everything down. Face it, our traffic is already dreadful. It takes very little for there to be a cascading effect. Were you around the time people were trapped in their cars for 6 hours during a snowstorm?!?! They told people to leave work early, it "didn't look bad" so lots of people didn't leave until 5, and then it was complete chaos. Eventually thousands of people got home to nice warm houses, but it was a complete mess before that, and the whole thing could have been avoided if people had followed instructions and left when the government shut down.
So yes, things in Virginia aren't as bad as they could have been, and it would be one thing to post a message expressing gratitude that you were spared. I think OP's attitude of one big eye roll is a sign of a completely self-absorbed person. As others have pointed out in this thread, the storm didn't spare EVERYONE in the DC metro area, and we all would have been paying the price if our local governments did't take weather events seriously. By staying home and off the roads, we did our part, and the whims of Sandy did the rest to spare us the brunt of the storm.

I think this has to be one of the most asshole-ish threads I've read here. Maybe next time you'll get something more interesting, OP.

Anonymous wrote:OP here: I am still underwhelmed in Virginia.

That's good news for you. We're in McLean with a tree on the roof and no power since 9 pm. And have flooded family in NY and NJ. I wish I could be underwhelmed. Just know a blessing when you experience one.

OP here: I am still underwhelmed in Virginia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

+1

I have lots of family and friends in NY, Long Island and NJ who are facing devastating effects. Count your blessings.

Devastating effects? Seriously a few inches of water in your living room and a couple of downed trees are not devastating effects.

First World Problems: Power being out for a day and a leak in your roof.

Power being out is NOT a catastrophe unless you are on a heart/lung machine. The rest is an inconvienice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

+1

I have lots of family and friends in NY, Long Island and NJ who are facing devastating effects. Count your blessings.

Devastating effects? Seriously a few inches of water in your living room and a couple of downed trees are not devastating effects.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

+1

I have lots of family and friends in NY, Long Island and NJ who are facing devastating effects. Count your blessings.

Yea, and there are starving kids in Africa.

Thanks mom.

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

+1

I have lots of family and friends in NY, Long Island and NJ who are facing devastating effects. Count your blessings.

It was a non-event, as I had expected. I did not go to the grocery store or fill up the tub, or stock pile water and batteries. The power did not even flicker and we walked the dog as usual.

However, I did organize and clean my fridge, pantry, linen closet, coat closet, and master bedroom closet. The laundry is all done and I thew away a ton of shit. Overall, the storm was a huge success.

Yes, it sucks to be in lower manhattan, but we are not, we are in DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

Um, have you seen the most recent reports of NY? The waters have receded; people are out walking their dogs and cars are on roads that were flooded a few hours ago.

Yeah, I'm sure those folks who had the facade of their building blown off are walking their dog. And those folks who live near the crane that that is precariously hanging are out getting a croissant right now.

Yes, it's a hurricane. Practically every year someplace in the SE is hit by a category 1 hurricane and experiences the same amount of damage. The only difference is that a Category 1 hurricane has never made it that far north before, so those people have never seen anything like it. The damage is NOT any more severe than any other modest hurricane, and imo is getting much more sensationalized coverage than is warranted.

It was a total non-event in close-in Silver Spring. We set up shop in the basement - pack and play etc., thinking we'd move down there when the winds picked up but they never did. Can't believe we didn't lose power! Very relieved.

I would like to restock the fridge etc. since my grocery shopping was sparse this weekend, have heard some of the side roads are bad. Wonder how crazy the stores will be?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

Um, have you seen the most recent reports of NY? The waters have receded; people are out walking their dogs and cars are on roads that were flooded a few hours ago.

And massive fires in Queens and other places.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2012/10/30/six-alarm-fire-destroying-queens-neighborhood-did-officials-fail-to-prepare-residents-video/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

Um, have you seen the most recent reports of NY? The waters have receded; people are out walking their dogs and cars are on roads that were flooded a few hours ago.

Yes--I saw the flooding via FB pictures from NYC friends last night, but when DH turned on the Weather Channel this morning and saw no water in NYC, he was like "um, what's the big deal?" Still terrible. We feel very lucky that power came back on at 1am and that no trees fell (yet). A nonevent in NoVa is fine by us! Hope others get their power back on quickly or have friends who can take them in today.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are an asshole for posting this ridiculous post, OP. Did you see what happened in NY? Count your blessings. And maybe you should donate to the relief effort in NY to up your karma.

Um, have you seen the most recent reports of NY? The waters have receded; people are out walking their dogs and cars are on roads that were flooded a few hours ago.

Yeah, I'm sure those folks who had the facade of their building blown off are walking their dog. And those folks who live near the crane that that is precariously hanging are out getting a croissant right now.