Power to the People

I woke up to my radio-alarm going off. Still have power. The djs on KZOK were announcing school closures due to power outages. They gave a long list and then said, there are more, go to this website to find out if your school is closed. Um, so most people don't have power... do I have to say the rest? Seattle Times sent an e-mail to their subscribers saying they weren't able to print their morning edition because there wasn't any power. Again... um?
I myself received some e-mails asking if I had power, etc. I just wasn't near a computer all day so never responded. But again...

There was one thing I did need to do at the office and it doesn't take electricity. We are moving offices - just down the road a mile. I had to pack everything up. No power. Luckily my cube has a window. It only took half an hour to get things packed. Heading out, I took a neighborhood street and had to avoid a fir tree that had fallen, blocking my side of the street.
On to getting Christmas stuff done! Limited to places that had power, though. But I got my errands done.
KOMO Radio has been doing "Neighbor to Neighbor Coverage" day and night. It's been really great. People call in with their tales of power/no power or if they need help or if they are providing a service. Feels very communal. People have even been inviting strangers into their homes if they have power. The DJ himself mentioned he didn't have and couldn't find D-cell batteries and his home was without power. Some listener stopped by the station and gave him a large pack of D-cells. It also helped when I met up with Pic and she wanted to go to a store in West Seattle. I had just heard a caller on KOMO saying that that area didn't have power so we didn't need to waist any time or gas heading over there.

I was glad I got gas the night before. A lot of gas stations didn't have power so people couldn't fill their cars. And many people were driving around trying to find warm places and warm food. The gas stations with power had unbelievable lines. A caller on KOMO said she was still sitting in line for gas, it had been half an hour, and while they were sitting there someone came out and changed the sign from 2.65 to 2.75.

These are the times I'm glad I'm a techie and was a scout. When I got to the office, I already had a flashlight on me. I carry it everyday because I use it backstage at the theatre. Little things like that and 'be prepared.'