Darkness in Seattle: The Borg is Powerless
PHOTO CREDIT: MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Wow, so today is Tuesday, December 19, 2006 and I am back in south FL to finish packing the house and get my family. What a crazy past few days it has been. Just as I was wrapping up my third week at Microsoft, we got hit with an insane storm that has devastated the Puget Sound region. We're talking about winds over 90mph and devastation the likes of a hurricane in south FL. People at work are poking fun at me that I brought the shitty FL weather with me. In the three weeks that I have been living in Seattle, there has been flooding due to higher than average rainfall, snow - and lots of it, as well as the nutty wind storm which have led to massive power outages throughout the region.
Last Thursday I lost power at about 9pm. By morning, I was still without power. I decided that if anyone has power, it had to be Microsoft. Nope. Got there and power was out everywhere. Card readers didn't work and access to buildings was impossible unless someone let you in. I managed to get a cell phone signal (most towers everywhere were out, but we have like 22 just on the Microsoft campus alone). I got into my email via my Cingular 8525 (more on that one to come) and saw that facilities had sent everyone an email saying we were down. Everyone that could get on email was canceling meetings for the day. Since I had nothing better to do and my flight home wasn't until 10:30pm, I figured I would just hang out and power would be on soon. Not a chance, three hours later, power was still out. After getting tired of that routine, I headed out to Woodinville to check on my new house. What a mess. Trees, power lines, you name it, it came down in Woodinville. The picture above was taken right down the street from my new home. Hell of a day to take care of business out there.
I did what I needed to do and headed back to Bellevue to my corporate apartment. The entire drive there I had cell coverage and was trying to get my wife to book an airport shuttle for me, but I didn't have my corporate apartment address on me. I figured I would call her back when I got to the apartment. Only one problem. It seems the power, phone service AND cell towers were all down at the apartment. Talk about being blasted back to the stone ages. It was pure madness. I decided to go down the mountain and see if I could get better cell coverage and get a call out to my wife. Nothing. By now I was starting to panic since I really didn't want to leave my car at the airport for two weeks. I already had permission to leave my car in the Microsoft garage at my building, so I figured I would head out to the campus and catch a bus or cab to the airport from there. So back to the apartment I went to get my gear. Just as I pull into my parking space, my new neighbor starts up a conversation with me about my Mustang. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, he was giving me a ride to the airport! Try THAT here in Miami. Someone was definitely watching over me. I got to the airport with time to spare and made a new friend in the process. Pete didn't even accept my money for gas, what a guy I tell you. If you ever read this - thanks a million Pete! A full blown BBQ at my new house is in order, and Pete is my guest of honor.
One thing I have to mention, in the face if this madness, the people in Seattle generally maintained their composure and remained civil. It wasn't like here in Miami where the looters come out to rob you blind. The grocery stores were open with basic power to run registers, and people still maintained law and order while they shopped for what they needed. They didn't abuse the system and were thoughtful of the others around them that were also in need. Here in Miami, some idiot would wipe out the entire water aisle or ice machine, just because he could. That's the kind of people in Miami and exactly the reason I am getting the hell out of this place.
So now I am getting ready to have the packers arrive tomorrow and Thursday, and loading the truck on Friday. On Xmas morning we are heading out on our 3,300+ mile adventure and driving to Seattle with my wife, daughter and dog. THAT's gonna be interesting. ;-) I'll try to take pics and blog periodically on our journey. Unfortunately we can't take the scenic route for fear of ending up like James Kim (poor guy). The shortest and most scenic route would take us through some pretty heavy snow areas, so we are taking the boring route along I-10 through the desert to I-5 in Los Angeles and heading north to Seattle from there.
Our best wishes to you and your families, have a great holiday and I'll be back once we are on the road!
