winter!

last night we got our first dump of snow - real snow. it came down sideways in a huge wind and now it's all piled up everywhere. i started worrying about driving and salt and all that crap - but when i got up this morning - the roads were nicely plowed and it was starting to get melty. there is still a lot of snow - and more is coming down now with more in the forcast for tonight. it's really pretty. of course - the forcast also says that on friday it's going to be 8 degrees with rain (100%), at time heavy. so the snow will be gone and it will just be gross.

this is what i saw last night - i had no idea it was snowing, when i came home and starting studying it wasn't even raining - weeeee!


and this morning!



oh right - so why am i posting during the day, you ask? (well you didn't, but i'll tell you anyway). i got up bright and early this morning - aiming to get to work at 7:30. got up, freaked out at the snow, got the driveway shoveled, freaked out at the snow, got in the car, drove to work, freaked out at the slush on the road and when i got into the building (after giving the nice man snow blowing the front walk at our building a nice warm smile) i heard the oddest noise...." beep.......beep.......beep". i looked at the alarm panel and thought "this can't be the burgalar alarm - there are other cars in the lot". so i peered at the panel and i read (in the dark) "fire alarm - evacuate building". and i thought - "well that's just stupid, there's no fire, there was no one else outside. besides, i don't SEE fire, so there must be no fire". (the inner firefighter in me knows this is stupid and had there been a fire i would have kicked myself - after rolling in the snow to put out the flames). anyhoo - the little panel also had a little "continue" option at the bottom so i pushed that so i could learn about the other 3 alarms going off (according to the panel). it then goes on, over about 37 little screens, to tell me what all the alarms sound like. if it beeps on every OTHER second then the building is on fire, if it beeps on every second then there's a burgalar with a pick ax coming after you, if it beeps loudly on every other second there is a really BIG fire, if it beeps quickly the unit needs servicing. are you kidding me? gee, let's see - how loud do they mean? this is just irritating loud, not shatter ear drums loud. but i don't know how loud this thing can go - so is it loud? no idea. beeping on every other second....well, it wasn't calibrated with the office clock that ticks so loud you can hear it (like the ones at schools!) so i would say the beeping was more "syncopated" - was there a syncopated option? does the unit need servicing? after poking a few more buttons and making sure i wasn't breaking it, i called the ADT number. where the man asked me for my address (aren't they suppose to know from the phone number you call from?) and then proceeds to tell me that yes they are aware of the alarm, they have already spoken to our security guru and "we're ignoring it until morning". um. ok. well, it's morning and i'm at the office and the entire building is BEEPING. what i actually said was "oh! great! you talked to so-and-so! great. ok then, thanks!" then he asked me for my security code, which i provided and he told me i wasn't in the system. he suggested it was maybe a word or something that i had chosen to remember it easily. i said , ya, it is - and it's what i just said! he tried again - hmmm, nope, not in the system. so i said "ok, well that's what it is, bye!"

then i sat in my dark office staring at my dark computer listening to the building go "beep......beep.......beep......" for about 25 minutes while drinking my coffee. it wasn't until my coffee was almost done and i realised the coffee machine at the office runs on power (which we were apparently mostly out of) that i decided to go home. i slapped a post it note on my bosses door with my number and told him to call me when the power was back on. that was at 8am. it's noon now - i just called the office and some random person answered the phone. my boss left for the day hours ago and there is still no power.

today is a total gift. i was freaking out about studying and not having enough time. now, i'm sitting at my desk at home, eating my chicken sandwich wrapped in saran out of my purse (nothing but class i tell you, nothing but class) and i've already studied for 3 hours. by the looks of it i've got nothing but another 12 hours of study time ahead of me. yeeeehaw!

j