Blizzard 07
This has been an interesting week!
For starters, last Tuesday I had heard a rumor at work that there was a big meeting coming up on Thursday, and two different sources said this was going to be to announce lay-offs. So, people were a little nervous about that.
Then Tuesday night / Wednesday morning was when the blizzard passed through. I was really hoping for a snow day (basically all the schools and some businesses were closed) and people were saying it's the worst snow they've seen since '78. Still, our office was open, but since my apartment complex hadn't plowed at all, I opted to work from home. Nice to know my wireless internet is still working well. In the afternoon I got an email saying that there was going to be a big meeting Thursday morning, just as the rumors had predicted.
On Thursday, people were pretty quiet until the 9am meeting. It was there that they announced they would be laying off about 100 people from the Strongsville office. (We probably have about 600 total).. and that management would be notifying us either Thursday or Friday. Oh, this has all been reported in the news, so it's ok for me to talk about now. So anyway, after the meeting, everyone was wondering whether or not they were going to have a job... Our manager pulled us all aside around 2pm and informed us that our jobs would not been impacted, so we could rest easy for the rest of the day.
I was just getting ready to leave, when I noticed my cell phone had a text message on it. Here, Katherine had been worried for some time because she was going to have to get x-rays! After the snow came through, she and some friends went sledding, and injured her neck in the process. So, I hit the road for State College after work and when I stopped at a rest stop, called to make sure that she was OK. Thankfully they didn't find any permanent damage and she was feeling a lot better after hearing that. I made the rest of the trip back home and spent some time with my parents which was nice.
Then the ride down to Philly.. ugh.. Normally, it takes about 3 hours and 15 mins.. Everything was going smoothly until about 70 miles to go.. That's when traffic came to a standstill on the turnpike, where they had completely closed off 20 miles. I guess when the blizzard went through, a tractor trailer jackknifed and caused a huge mess. Anyway, long story short, it ended up taking me 9 hours to arrive!
It was definitely worth it though to spend the weekend with Kath. Leaving for home is getting harder and harder.. I can't wait till we won't have to! :) Some notable activities included going out to eat a lot, seeing her friend's play and going ice skating. It was a nice way to celebrate Valentine's Day and our 1-year anniversary! I might add that neither of us fell while skating either!
Thankfully the roads were back to normal on my drive back to Ohio. One funny thing I saw on the way though was this "Oversized Load".. Normally they're not all that interesting, but this one in particular looked fun and I tried to take a picture. It was a giant red Radio Flyer wagon! The wheels must have been about 5 or 6 feet in diameter. It looked cool!
Anyway.. the countdown to the wedding continues.. :)
For starters, last Tuesday I had heard a rumor at work that there was a big meeting coming up on Thursday, and two different sources said this was going to be to announce lay-offs. So, people were a little nervous about that.
Then Tuesday night / Wednesday morning was when the blizzard passed through. I was really hoping for a snow day (basically all the schools and some businesses were closed) and people were saying it's the worst snow they've seen since '78. Still, our office was open, but since my apartment complex hadn't plowed at all, I opted to work from home. Nice to know my wireless internet is still working well. In the afternoon I got an email saying that there was going to be a big meeting Thursday morning, just as the rumors had predicted.
On Thursday, people were pretty quiet until the 9am meeting. It was there that they announced they would be laying off about 100 people from the Strongsville office. (We probably have about 600 total).. and that management would be notifying us either Thursday or Friday. Oh, this has all been reported in the news, so it's ok for me to talk about now. So anyway, after the meeting, everyone was wondering whether or not they were going to have a job... Our manager pulled us all aside around 2pm and informed us that our jobs would not been impacted, so we could rest easy for the rest of the day.
I was just getting ready to leave, when I noticed my cell phone had a text message on it. Here, Katherine had been worried for some time because she was going to have to get x-rays! After the snow came through, she and some friends went sledding, and injured her neck in the process. So, I hit the road for State College after work and when I stopped at a rest stop, called to make sure that she was OK. Thankfully they didn't find any permanent damage and she was feeling a lot better after hearing that. I made the rest of the trip back home and spent some time with my parents which was nice.
Then the ride down to Philly.. ugh.. Normally, it takes about 3 hours and 15 mins.. Everything was going smoothly until about 70 miles to go.. That's when traffic came to a standstill on the turnpike, where they had completely closed off 20 miles. I guess when the blizzard went through, a tractor trailer jackknifed and caused a huge mess. Anyway, long story short, it ended up taking me 9 hours to arrive!
It was definitely worth it though to spend the weekend with Kath. Leaving for home is getting harder and harder.. I can't wait till we won't have to! :) Some notable activities included going out to eat a lot, seeing her friend's play and going ice skating. It was a nice way to celebrate Valentine's Day and our 1-year anniversary! I might add that neither of us fell while skating either!
Thankfully the roads were back to normal on my drive back to Ohio. One funny thing I saw on the way though was this "Oversized Load".. Normally they're not all that interesting, but this one in particular looked fun and I tried to take a picture. It was a giant red Radio Flyer wagon! The wheels must have been about 5 or 6 feet in diameter. It looked cool!
Anyway.. the countdown to the wedding continues.. :)