Snowpocalypse Update

Hi everyone!! I'm still stuck on campus! That makes two nights for me. It hasn't been bad, actually, I kind of like the quiet time by myself. I have an awful lot of pictures to post, so many that I may just put them up on Flickr. I'll let you know.

Campus is still snowed in, the maintenance staff is working a lot of overtime, but to be honest the wind is causing so many walks to fill in just after they'd been plowed open that they just stopped for several hours yesterday because there was no point. They did a little bit again last night, then as far as I know nothing until about 5 this morning. There are Icicles of Death all over the place, some of them easily 6 feet long.

Winds have been upwards of 30-40mph with gusts easily around 50mph. I slipped and fell once, didn't hurt myself, but there is a lot of ice on the walks that the snow is covering. Very dangerous. We have sun today and even though it is so cold I'm hoping that the walks melt a bit.

In other weather-related news, I saw a picture of the storm this morning on the national radar. It was as big as a hurricane, it was rotating like a hurricane, and it had an eye like a hurricane. Very interesting.

Most of Maryland is still in a state of emergency. Hospitals are requesting 4W drivers to help with their transportation and probably to get doctors/nurses in and out. If you're stuck working at a hospital through something like this burnout must be an incredible problem. They need replacement staff badly.

This morning, I was in the lobby of the dorm where the main office is for Guest Services, and they got a call from security. It seems a truck had been stuck on the main road down about a half mile from campus. We had all heard that, it had been there for hours. Apparently it still had people in it including a child. Why on earth they stayed in the vehicle when there is a camps RIGHT HERE is beyond me. The mainenance staff had been working on clearing roads with the backhoes and dump trucks (because the plows weren't big enough to handle it all), and when I looked out the door towards the South Gate (closest to the stuck vehicle) I could see a caravan of the equipment headed there to open the access road. They were going to get the people out to bring them to a dorm. So, yay us! Cause, yah know, when disaster strikes FEMA is here!

On the home front, Matt is currently trying to figure out how to get all the snow moved. He is expected to be in today, which I just don't see happening. He called me last night at 10:30. Apparently the quarry (grit mill) on the hill above the house had a transformer fire earlier. Then it stopped. And then there were some strange electrical things going on around the house, like flickering, lowered lights and a humming sound. Well, the humming was coming from the mill. Matt said that the Aircraft Rescue fire apparatus from our local SECRET NUCLEAR BUNKER went up the road. He looked at the mill and they were having a huge electrical fire, flames 40' high and he said it looked like someone set off a truck of fireworks. He said the backyard looked like daylight, it was so bright. I wish I'd been there to see it.

So, I'm working today 10:30 to 2:30, then....I hope I can get home. If not, I'll be here....again....for a third night. Everyone is wonderful, there is a nice sense of amusement over the whole thing, even though we all have work to do. But.....I only brought one change of clothes. I'm wearing a pajama top today. It is a nice pajama top, and if I dont' tell anyone no one will be the wiser. But I wanna go home.