9/5/13

Mother Nature runs Amok

Amok, Amok, Amok, Amok, Amok.  From the movie Hocus Pocus and often repeated in our home when something unexpected happens. 

It rained last night.  There was a 20% chance in the forecast, just like there had been every day for a week, but we hadn’t gotten a drop, so when it started to sprinkle, we put our TV show on pause and went to the front porch to enjoy it.  Sydney even stepped off the porch into the drizzle.  And, the drizzle became a rain.  And we watched as the wind played water patterns in the street with the falling rain drops.

And, then the lightening started.  And, the wind blew.  And, the lightening was close.  Real close.  And, it started to become constant, right around our house, not once here and then the next one far away.  They were all right here.  And, that’s when I said enough and we went inside. 

Then, the neighborhood transformer blew and our house turned into Frankenstein’s laboratory, the lights dimming, then brightening and the buzzing sound of electricity.  And, the back yard filled with a green light every time the lights inside flickered on.  Once.  Twice.  Three times the lights brightened, and then it was dark.  And, for a second, we all stood right where we were because it wasn’t just dark, it was really, really dark.  And, quiet. 

And, then we all started to move.  Me for matches and candles and later the oil lamps that I keep trimmed and filled for just such an emergency, Sydney to get all the animals together, and Rob to see if we were in any danger and calling the neighbors.  In just a few minutes, we knew the transformer was out and we were in for a long spell without power.  And, we started unplugging electronics. 

It didn’t take long for crews to get here, and soon, the rain stopped.  We went on to bed and Sydney to the shower.  It takes a while to fall asleep when you’re waiting for something to happen, and I was waiting for the power to come back on.  Eventually, I made it to sleep and sometime after 2, the power came on and the few lights we’d forgotten to turn off had to be turned off. 

We were lucky.  We’ve taken good care of our trees.  But, we’re in a drought and some of our neighbors weren’t so lucky.

This tree went down in the street, and pulled the sidewalk up with it. 

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This fence was less than a year old and there’s only those two sections left standing.

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These people were in the process of putting on a new roof.  Oops!

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This one came down on the people’s house, root ball and all.

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That last picture is so much brighter because I was using the news crew’s lights.  They were there doing a story.  While this wasn’t the most dramatic damage, it was all the damage to homes I saw.  But, there has to have been damage to cars, because there were big limbs in so many driveways. 

I could see where trees had fallen across streets and the city crews, tasked with keeping traffic moving, had just cut the limbs out of the street and left the tree top in one yard and the tree trunk in another.

So, the interview yesterday was pretty difficult.  I had done a wonderful job at the task she had given me.  But, the discussion between us was uncomfortable.  She started out by saying that there were no wrong answers, and then argued every answer I gave as though I had to be convinced.  I kind of knew to expect this (she has a reputation) and suspect it was because part of the test was to see what I’d do under pressure.  Early on, I decided I needed to stop trying to say what I thought she wanted to hear and get on with telling her how I think, which was the assigned task.  Maybe that’s a good thing.  Maybe it’s not.  And, if it’s not, it probably says as much about her as it does me.  But the last thing I want is a job where somebody expects a yes man.  That ain’t likely to happen.

Be well.  Have a great weekend eve as the news caster called it htis morning.  Tomorrow, I’ll get back to telling about my over productive last weekend.  Or, maybe something else more exciting will happen.

Lane

7 comments:

Piece by Piece said...

Glad you are all OK and your house did not sustain any damage.
Funny, we both wrote about thunder and lightening today, however,in my story my Mum didn't come though as well as you did.
When the power is disrupted, it makes one realize how much we rely on electricity.
Patricia

andsewon said...

Glad you all and your home are safe! Hate storms but evening ones are worse to me! We live in a hurricane and Nor'easter area. So know how you were feeling! Take care and wish you the best on the job!
Lola

Kath said...

wow, that was quite a storm, glad you all stayed safe.

Becky said...

Whoaaaaaa!!! All kinds of excitement at your house! Glad you are all ok.

lw said...

Glad your house wasn't damaged. Hopefully there wasn't any latent damage from the lightening strikes to your appliances.

If the person interviewing you can't see what a catch you are, she doesn't deserve to have such a wonderful, hard working, bright person as you working for her.

Rebecca Grace said...

Wow -- freaky storm! I'm glad you were just a spectator (with really good seats!) and not a victim of Mother Nature's tantrum.

On job interviews: I know how it feels, going into an interview, like you're being stripped bare, inspected, and judged by an interviewer who has all the power, like you're a piece of fruit in the produce section getting squeezed, sniffed, and examined and all you can do is hope they think you're good enough for them. But "inter" means "between," and an interview goes both ways. Bosses do tend to be on their best behavior during an interview, painting a rosy picture of themselves and their workplace to make you WANT the job. If you got a bad feeling in your gut about her during the interview, she's probably a banshee straight out of hell to work for. You DID say her "reputation" preceded her? I had an interview once for a job at a tech company where I would be one of only a couple of female employees. This guy was asking me questions like "will you be able to handle it if I have to scream at you in front of your co-workers or will you start crying?" I swear I am not making this up. I think I told him something like "Well, I know nothing about computers and I'm not willing to learn anything about them, either. I don't think this job is a good fit" and walked out. Trust your gut! Whoever employs you will not be doing you a favor; they will be lucky to get you!

Megan said...

It sounds as if you made a sensible choice at the interview, Lane. You can't act a part 37 hours a week - you need to be able to relax and be yourself. If that means you and she aren't a good team, so be it. It doesn't say anything about either of you really - just that your styles won't allow you to work effectively together. However, as you say, she may have been testing you and she may really like having an independent mind and not a 'yes man' on the team. I'm looking forward to hearing how you get on.

Megan
Sydney, Australia