storm!

The state of emergency placed on my home can now be lifted. The situation has stabilized and I have returned from my refugee status. This photo is of what I have been seeing a lot of lately.

The night of the big wind storm '06, Claire and I had just returned from an evening of tooling around Fremont and being caught in the strongest rain shower I have ever seen. The streets were flooded, ravenous, class V rivers and sheets of water were blowing parallel to the sky. We parked the car and screamed with delight as we leapt across multiple bodies of water and got half soaked before we fell into the door of Cafe Ladro. We couldn't believe our eyes and stuck our faces up against the glass windows to watch the spectacle. We gasped and gaped and looked around the cafe for some wild-weather camaraderie. The shop was full of people, working away on their laptops. No one even looked up. You would have thought it was a perfect summer day the way people were non-responsive. Even the Barista looked uninterested and failed to comment on what was surely the most interesting thing of the day, happening at that very moment. Claire and I decided these people were obviously stiff or had lost their imaginations. The only response was a group Ctrl-S when the lights flickered.

After we returned home the wind was already blowing hard and shaking the house. We stayed up and sat in the massage chairs in my room, watching the tree tops blow. After a couple hours of sleep I was jolted awake in my bed as the house swayed under the pressure of gusts of wind. I got up and looked out the window to see the trees bending over and shingles flying off of roofs like confetti. I jumped back in bed and covered my head, trying to fall back asleep. I peeked out and stared over my covers at Bellevue, while the bed shook. The electricity surged and the clock radio turned itself on. Before I could get over to turn it off, everything went black. I looked out and saw the whole of the Eastside, black. I got so scared as the winds grew worse, that I ran to Claire's bedroom and jumped in bed with her. I thought maybe the roof would come clear off. We were both awake for the next 4 hours hearing trees fall, garbage cans fly and our window screens popping off. I wasn't sure we would make it through the night.

We did. The wind stopped and before it did I got so tired even the shaking house couldn't keep me awake. The last three days have been spent seeking out fallen trees, smashed cars, and general disaster, while calling around to evaluate electricity status. Claire and I both awoke with frozen brains the second morning, so we abandon ship and stayed at her parents' place. The electricity was finally restored after 72 hours, and we returned. It was all very exciting. Between the snow and the wind, I expect a small migration of those less tolerant from the city. Only the strong survive.