Wow.
Well.
You're going to get a blow-by-blow because there's just no other way to describe the last few days.
It started on Wednesday. The second day of rain with more projected, we got an email warning us that flood procedures were being reviewed and may be put into effect.
You see, my workplace happens to lie in a floodplain. It's protected by berms between us and the river (and between us and some of the higher ground on other sides) but given where the river was expected to crest, it could very well turn said berms into a bowl instead and flood our buildings.
Anyway, this warning came on Wednesday. On Thursday, E-Train and the Admiral happened to appear for a couple days of weddings. That afternoon, we were informed that we should turn up for work on Friday ready to move chemicals uphill and fill sandbags. When I left work, that was where things stood.
I had just settled in to have dinner with the boys and Neubs when my phone buzzed at me with a message. It was from none other than the guy heading up the chemical move -- they were starting now.
An hour later I was back at work helping with the effort.
We have several large labs on site and a pilot plant -- all of which have copious amounts of nasty stuff that no one wanted floating downriver. It's all now either in the flood-safe building on site where we store hazardous material ... or chained to something so it doesn't float away.
It was late when I got home Thursday night. And it was early when I got to work Friday morning after about four-ish hours of sleep to help with the rest of the flood effort.
By ten we had most of the doors boarded and sandbagged and everything necessary moved above the 2-foot mark. Water was officially on the property and they sent everybody home.
I don't know what state things are in now. As of last night the office building was still dry (I think) ... However, a state of emergency has been declared in this county and the highway that runs right past our site (as in, a couple hundred yards from the fenceline) is flooded and closed.
Yeah.
In the meantime ...
There's a wedding going on today. It just so happens that two coworkers are getting married, and there are five of us Zimproids standing up in said wedding. We were all part of the flood prep.
This mostly means that we've been prepping for a wedding in and around all of this. I'm taking care of breakfast for the girls, so in the middle of all the flood prep I've been grocery shopping, chopping fruit, and generally trying to get everything together with limited time at home (and even more limited sleep).
It also means that yesterday started with sandbags really early and ended with a wedding rehearsal. In the middle of that was lunch with the Admiral and some time decorating a ballroom for tonight.
It has been a crazy week. Absolutely nuts.
And now it's 6AM on Saturday and I'm blogging because my brain can only take it for so long. In a few minutes I'll be back on my feet and gathering up the oodles of stuff I'm bringing with me for the day. And in an hour and a half I'll be at the hotel, unloading breakfast and getting my hair done.
Never a dull moment, I tell you.
Have a good weekend, folks.
You're going to get a blow-by-blow because there's just no other way to describe the last few days.
It started on Wednesday. The second day of rain with more projected, we got an email warning us that flood procedures were being reviewed and may be put into effect.
You see, my workplace happens to lie in a floodplain. It's protected by berms between us and the river (and between us and some of the higher ground on other sides) but given where the river was expected to crest, it could very well turn said berms into a bowl instead and flood our buildings.
Anyway, this warning came on Wednesday. On Thursday, E-Train and the Admiral happened to appear for a couple days of weddings. That afternoon, we were informed that we should turn up for work on Friday ready to move chemicals uphill and fill sandbags. When I left work, that was where things stood.
I had just settled in to have dinner with the boys and Neubs when my phone buzzed at me with a message. It was from none other than the guy heading up the chemical move -- they were starting now.
An hour later I was back at work helping with the effort.
We have several large labs on site and a pilot plant -- all of which have copious amounts of nasty stuff that no one wanted floating downriver. It's all now either in the flood-safe building on site where we store hazardous material ... or chained to something so it doesn't float away.
It was late when I got home Thursday night. And it was early when I got to work Friday morning after about four-ish hours of sleep to help with the rest of the flood effort.
By ten we had most of the doors boarded and sandbagged and everything necessary moved above the 2-foot mark. Water was officially on the property and they sent everybody home.
I don't know what state things are in now. As of last night the office building was still dry (I think) ... However, a state of emergency has been declared in this county and the highway that runs right past our site (as in, a couple hundred yards from the fenceline) is flooded and closed.
Yeah.
In the meantime ...
There's a wedding going on today. It just so happens that two coworkers are getting married, and there are five of us Zimproids standing up in said wedding. We were all part of the flood prep.
This mostly means that we've been prepping for a wedding in and around all of this. I'm taking care of breakfast for the girls, so in the middle of all the flood prep I've been grocery shopping, chopping fruit, and generally trying to get everything together with limited time at home (and even more limited sleep).
It also means that yesterday started with sandbags really early and ended with a wedding rehearsal. In the middle of that was lunch with the Admiral and some time decorating a ballroom for tonight.
It has been a crazy week. Absolutely nuts.
And now it's 6AM on Saturday and I'm blogging because my brain can only take it for so long. In a few minutes I'll be back on my feet and gathering up the oodles of stuff I'm bringing with me for the day. And in an hour and a half I'll be at the hotel, unloading breakfast and getting my hair done.
Never a dull moment, I tell you.
Have a good weekend, folks.
Comments
Don't float away. Enjoy the wedding.
And the wedding was a blast. :)