Dear Stranger,
Should I actually go to work today? It seems inappropriate that they would even ask.
Thanks,
(do not use my name, my boss reads slog and will kill me)
Christopher Frizzelle was The Stranger's print editor, and first joined the staff in 2003. He was the editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2016, and edited the story by Eli Sanders that won a 2012 Pulitzer... More by Christopher Frizzelle
@44,
Sven, you’re normally pretty right on, but you’re way off base with this one. There is a LOT of compact snow and ice on my street – which fortunately for me abuts 15th Ave NE which is getting sanded and plowed regularly.
I have a truck and was able to make it in to work, but I nearly got stuck when I parked and two nice people had to help push me out of about 2 feet frozen crusty piled-up snow that gave no traction whatsoever.
Metro has eliminated dozens of routes and driving is still plenty treacherous. I’ve lived here most of my life, and this is some of the worst weather I’ve ever seen (and I will echo the repeated posts of those who point out that this is a city with more than a few hills).
So yeah, in fact, there is plenty of reason not to come in to work – especially if your boss gives you a pass.
I tried. I waited in the cold and 10″ of snow for an hour this morning. No bus. No work. But I tried.
Today is a good day to go in since it’s mostly snow and slush. Tomorrow, do not go anywhere! It’s going to be solid fucking ice.
Sven might have a point, I’m from London (UK, not ON) and so anything shiny on the road is ice to me. My office window looks down 5th towards downtown and I can see at least three abandoned stranded cars due to ice, and I had to do some comical tightrope walk style balancing trying to cross some roads this morning, so I reckon it’s icy. My fiancee who lived in Richland for 4 years might not agree with me, but neither might many people.
Plus I’ve only been in the Pacific NW for 23 months now so missed the ’06 storms.
Am currently using my absent boss’s heater fan to dry out my hiking shoes. Hope her office doesn’t end up smelling like feet.
@44
I grew up in a cold climate in the east coast–but I had access to subways to get to work. I wasn’t at the mercy of a neutered bus only public transportation system that doesn’t reach many places outside the city and a county infrastructure with limited means to contain the impact of a large snowfall in the sticks.
Felt so guilty about not coming in on Thursday and Friday that I felt obligated to come in this morning. Took me about an hour to walk here, only to find that the database I need to use to actually get any work done is down for the day. Awesome.
I just walked from Bellevue and Thomas to 3rd and Pike, only to realize once I got here that I didn’t have my keycard. Luckily 2 out of 15 people were in the office, even more luckily one was another dev so I could get into our server room.
Re: downtown streets. There is basically no ice downtown right now. Everything has been melting all morning and it’s either clear or slush. Tomorrow might be nuts though.
My work was closed and so I didn’t have to burn vacation or drive 11 miles to work before 7:00 am. I’m glad I am on salary so I get paid for this. My wife works in a hospital doing non critical work and she had to burn vacation or go to work even though most of her patients will not show. So I drove her to work where she will treat a couple people and kill time for the rest of the day. If I knew where to hook up I could drive people to work who really need to be there. I am so bored that community service looks good.
I can see how if you rely on the bus it’s a much worse situation. Point taken.