I Think It’s Done

I smelled smoke and heard some commotion in the hallway on our floor, so I stepped out of my apartment to see what was going on. Some other people were already trying to figure out what was burning. At some point, someone must have called 911 because the alarms hadn’t gone off, but the fire department showed up.

They started knocking on doors to make sure everyone was alright. A few people didn’t answer. After a couple of minutes, the smoke smell seemed to clear a bit, and no one was really sure what it was. Then, someone entered the hallway from the stairwell and said something like, “Oh, it’s this one” and unlocked their door for the firemen to check.

Turns out, it was just burnt popcorn.

The first week of the shelter-in-place order, I bought a DiGiorno frozen pizza, forgetting that you need to cook these in an oven, which my studio does not have (only a stove top). So, I tried cooking it in the microwave and although my culinary efforts did not result in a visit from the Jersey City Fire Department, the results were not great. It was a hot doughy mess.

I think the culinary skills (or lack thereof) on our floor might actually be just as hazardous to our health and safety as the coronavirus.