Friday, December 15, 2006

What happens in my office when the power goes out?

Pizza party! Mind you, the power isn't actually out IN the office. But some people came into work with wet hair and mismatched socks. As a prize for making it in to work despite the numerous power outage related hardships, our team in legal was rewarded with delicious Pagliacci pizza:


Thanks boss!

Winter Wind Storm 2006 - Not so funny anymore...

From MSNBC:
Powerful storm socks Northwest; 4 dead
1.5 million homes, businesses without power; schools, major bridges closed


From CNN:
Storm cuts power across two states

UPDATE:
Storm's death toll now 13

I should have taken a "sick" day:

Be happy you were not on this plane...

High winds make for a scary landing at Sea-Tac

Winter Storm Blast 2006 - v. 2.0!

So last night in the Pacific Northwest was a little crazy. I had the displeasure of driving home in rain so heavy that everyone on the freeway slowed to 40 MPH. They seemed to have forgotten that their windshield wipers have a "HIGH" setting. That, and you know, it NEVER rains up here.

The high winds and torrential rains overnight knocked out power to nearly a million and half people in the area. Here's a screenshot from the Puget Sound Energy website this morning:



Yes, it says TWO-THIRDS of PSE customers are without power. I was one of the lucky few that awoke with power. It went out at some point during the night but only for a brief moment. It was probably one of the several moments I awoke to loud noises coming from our roof - the kinds of noises that prompted me to tell the cat "That doesn't sound good." Needless to say, trying to sleep through the night was a little terrifying.

I made it into work without incident, noting during the bus ride that about half of the normal traffic was absent from the roads. For about 15 minutes, until about 8:30 am, I was the only person in our wing of the office. I was kind of hoping that no one would show. What's that rule? If no one shows by 9:00 you get the day off? Sadly, my co-workers slowly but surely began filtering in (about half of them in any case). The brave warriors that fought their way in today are getting a pizza party. Yay. I'd rather have a "snow day" like most of the kids around town...no power, no classes. Sometimes I miss being 12 years old.