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Saturday, December 16, 2006

Uncool.

24 hours without power makes one have, if even slight, a better appreciation and understanding for the things around us that we take for granted.

Like heat. Light. Hot water to take a shower.

Washington and Oregon got slapped upside the head with one hell of a storm Thursday evening, with massive rains and winds reaching upwards of 90mph in some areas. That evening, standing outside on Amy's balcony, we watched the trees bend and quietly scream as the winds tore things left and right, and eventually, the little light show that was power transformers popping across the Woodinville-Redmond valley provided brief shots of entertainment...until the power went out for us too.

Candles lit, we got kids to bed and presents wrapped, sat on the couch and just enjoyed the quiet of the house as the fury of that storm howled outside. It was kind of romantic in a way, but even so, I had to head on home and see if any trees had rudely entered their way into my little apartment via a window or something equally crappy. Don't get me wrong - I would've loved nothing more than to curl up in bed next to her and just listen to that storm wreak its havoc, but...yeah, well. In due time, I hope.

So, I packed up my stuff, and adventured forth into a very windy, very dark drive home. There's something eerily melodic about places and things you know, suddenly missing key features as the scene passes you by. Street lamps and traffic lights, the ever-present glow of the big yellow Shell gas station sign, or the Starbucks logo in green and white. When you suddenly remove those little bits and pieces, the whole becomes foreign.

Motoring on home, seeing the evergreen path of destruction along the roads was also quite a sight. The entire drive smelled like a Christmas tree farm after harvest, and the roads looked like a warzone of downed trees and branches flying everywhere. The tricky part was dodging the stuff in mid-rend, my poor little car even getting slapped in the face by a falling tree as I crested a hill. No damage to speak of minus a broken windshield wiper and some scratches; the very tip-top of the tree had crashed into the road just far enough in to bonk The Blue Bomber on the passenger side. But I won't lie - that puckered my butthole for a minute.

Getting into Woodinville after that first foray into Mother Nature, again, seemed alien. Not more than 20 minutes ago, I was in the middle of a wanna-be junior hurricane, and now I'm crossing through green-light intersections that I've driven thousands of times like nothing's happening. Granted, it was kind of nice to just have light on the road and power when I actually made it home, but still...

My power finally blinked out around 1 or 2am, and thankfully I'd charged my phone enough to wake me up the next morning and attempt the drive to work. The Day After, so to speak (so melodramatic, I know) was equally impressive to witness, as the light of day shed itself on the poor tree victims that it had claimed. It was everywhere, and the entire drive in to work, not a lit light bulb to be found.

Now, why I was trying to go to work is beyond me - I knew that the entirety of Redmond was without power, and the basic laws of secure buildings with keycards dictates that without juice, you ain't gettin' in. Even so, had to try - which in and of itself was a mistake. My car, having developed a case of the Squeaky Belt the day before, starting acting really strange. Give it some gas - no go. Oh hey, radio's turning on and off....sweeeeet. So, I immediately turned around and limped on back to homebase, crossing fingers and making prayer-promises to be good, just get me home...!

Made it home, shut the car off and ran my first test of theory: start it again. Nothing.

*sigh*

Long and short of it though, figured out the problem, and with the incredible friends that I've mentioned previously, made several stops and finally found the bolt (yes, one stupid M7 metric bolt, the cause of my woes), fixed it, and even managed to stay where it was warm and recharge my batteries. All of them.

A rather craptacular 24 hours nonetheless, but arriving home late last night, I was pleasantly welcomed by a house with power and heat, so what started horribly that morning certainly ended a little better.

(God bless those line crews out there fixing this little blackout.)

I don't think I can quantify how great some of the people around me are...those that always seem to be there when I need them the most, especially when others just seem to up and vanish. Helping get a car fixed, or simply letting me hang out where there's heat and comraderie - those are things I just don't know how to show enough appreciation for, so the best I can do is memoralize here in words.

For those still without power, I feel your pain and hope it comes back on soon. You guys are all more than welcome to come hang out here, but..then...if you don't have power you're probably not going to be reading this any time soon.

Crap.

//end.

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Location: Seattle, Washington, United States

I'm old. I'm only 30, but some days I feel *old*. I have a beautiful 6 year old daugher. A nice life. A loving family. A gorgeous girlfriend. Yep, pretty boring. But dammit I'm here to write about it and you can't stop me!

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