and the skies have tumbled down

[floatingleaf]

Dear God... what a day. The weather has gone batshit. It had been raining heavily since yesterday morning - then it turned into a massive thunderstorm that raged unabated for most of the night. I barely got any sleep after 4 a.m. due to the racket it was making (and the super-bright lightning flashes). The day started out dark, gloomy and very wet. I felt like a zombie and could barely drag myself out of bed. Then it got worse. I got ready for work and walked outside... into a pandemonium of rush-hour traffic stalling for miles in every direction. I spent over an hour just standing at the bus stop, watching the barely moving cars and the lone bus looming in the distance. I called my boss and left a message saying I was going to be late (no real clue HOW late, at that point). Finally I got on the bus, but it continued to crawl at a snail's pace pretty much all the way to the transit center. Another hour or so. FINALLY I got on the train (which was faster) and made it to the other transit center, from where I take another bus directly to the office. It was around 10:20 at that point, and the next bus wasn't scheduled until 10:50. So I decided to just walk from there (it's about 30 minutes on foot). Well, I didn't get very far. The next major intersection was completely flooded. As in, fully UNDER WATER, with a lone car floating somewhere in the middle. So I figured that didn't bode very well for walking... or for taking the bus either, for that matter. How do I know the bus is even running today, or what detour it might be taking, and whether said detour includes our office location?... There was no way to tell. So I called the boss again, leaving another message to the effect that I made I this far, but now I am going to be sensible and take the next train back home. Well, as soon as I got on the train, my boss called me back, saying that she was glad I was on my way home, since there is no electricity in the building and the office has just closed for the day. She also said to call in tomorrow morning and make sure it is open before I get ready to leave. I mean... WOW. O_O

The ride back home was a little faster than the unsuccessfully attempted ride to work, but still... in total, I went over 3.5 hours without using the bathroom, which, for me, qualifies as traumatic.:/ I didn't eat or drink anything either - which probably helped with the bathroom issue, but certainly didn't help with proper hydration or blood sugar levels. In other words, if I wasn't so anxious about my bladder, I might have passed out.:/

But my commute wasn't the worst, by far. To quote a news article on Yahoo: Chicago was pummeled by an all-night rainstorm that ripped open a sinkhole large enough to swallow three cars and injuring one driver badly enough that he had to be hospitalized. Imagine that. And I've been hearing police sirens and firetrucks all day. I can still hear them, every few minutes, here and there. I wonder what sort of commute stories my coworkers will have to tell, IF I see them tomorrow...

By the way, it has stopped raining - which is good news - but it's still very grey and windy, so no way to tell if the worst of it is over. Also, the temperature has been all over the place for the past few days. Yesterday I wished I had worn gloves (I didn't, because I stubbornly REFUSE to wear gloves in April). Today, I was sweating in a light open jacket. The building administration doesn't seem to know quite what to do with the heating - they turn it off, then turn it on again, and I simply never know if I'm going to wake up freezing during the night, or drenched in sweat. It's all very confusing.

And don't even get me started on the madness of shootings, bombings and explosions that has become a permanent feature of every newsfeed these days. I get the creepy feeling that it's all escalating towards some final apocalyptic crescendo. On the other had, I feel desensitized, because there's just TOO MUCH evil shit going on, and one can't possibly process or care about it all while still clinging to one's sanity...

Ahhh... there was the police siren again. I wonder if that intersection is still going to be flooded tomorrow, and how I am going to get to work if it is. I hope we're closed. The crossing of fingers for that purpose is greatly appreciated...:P

Comments

[meathiel]

Sounds like the end of the world is near - at least in Chicago.
Hope today is better ...

[floatingleaf.livejournal.com]

Yesterday WAS better, and today everything seems back to normal. Of course, I haven't actually been to any of the seriously flooded areas, so I shouldn't be talking, I guess...

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

My cousin who lives just outside Chicago has been keeping me informed of the weather too and it sounds like you get 'my' weather a day or so after I do; you have my complete sympathy.

[floatingleaf.livejournal.com]

Thanks.:)

[goddessofchaos.livejournal.com]

That's some serious weather! I remember something similar here a few years ago. Usually I like thunder and lightning but this was a storm that raged for hours and hours and the noise was unbelievable - it was like a freight train going by the window. I was terrified. And then the next day large parts of the town were underwater.

I'm still wearing my gloves, despite it being April. I'm pretty sure that last year I was wearing them in June!

[floatingleaf.livejournal.com]

Gloves in JUNE???... That's outrageous. The type of weather that makes you wear gloves in June should be totally illegal.;)

[anwyn-elfmaiden.livejournal.com]

I am healthier and happier when I am on a news break for some days. :)