Snowed In

I’ve been at my job for nearly 6 months, and just last week I got a meeting invitation from my boss’ boss. Time for my mid-year review! I really wanted to have this meeting to be able to talk about how I was doing and to find out what I can do to provide more value.

I gladly accepted the meeting invitation.  The upcoming discussion has constantly been on my mind for the last week and a half.

Hailing from the Greatest Snow on Earth, I wasn't too concerned that Monday, the trees out back looked like this:



However, the roads were icy, and my vanpool drivers decided not to run that day. So I saved some time and telecommuted to work.

On Tuesday, the main thoroughfares were relatively clear, so we drove to work as usual. But by noon the snow started to pile down. Hedging our bets, we left early.

That night, because of fresh snowfall, I received a notification that my vanpool wouldn't run the next day.

I had to get to work--my first-ever mid-year review was at 11!

I didn’t want to drive in this condition; a front-wheel-drive sedan just doesn’t cut it on 3 inches of snow covering a sheet of wet ice. Luckily, I had noticed that all the public buses were equipped with snow chains, so they would be traveling.

This morning, I got up and peered at the trees out back:



At least 2 more inches had fallen overnight.

I hurriedly prepared my lunch and headed out the door. The bus stop was just a few hundred yards away. I had 2 options for the bus which would both take me to the mid-point transit station: bus A and bus B.

I waited.

Bus A didn’t arrive. Then, bus B came by a little bit late. I hopped on. Unfortunately, he didn’t take the turn I expected. I quickly asked him if he was headed to my expected station, and he said. “No. That bus is going the opposite direction.”

Ugh. So I hopped off at the next stop which was right at the freeway entrance, and I trudged back to my original stop.

And waited.

And then a second bus B passed by going the wrong direction.

And then I waited some more.

After about 45 minutes. I saw a bus B pass by in the opposite direction. I noticed the driver, and it was the driver from the first bus B! I couldn’t cross the street there, so I just watched him pass.

Well, I thought, maybe if I wait just a little bit more bus A will arrive.

Instead, Bus B2 passed in the opposite direction.

Newman!

At that point, I calculated that if I was going to get to work, the bus system would take between 1.5 and 2 hours with a transfer in the middle that would be uncertain. So... 3 hours, give or take, to get to work and another 2 to come home?! I wouldn't make my meeting!!!  And the time I'd give up for the rest of the day wouldn't be worth it...

As my fingers froze, I pounded out an email to my boss’ boss via my phone. I let him know that I had waited an hour for the bus, that I was sorry I couldn’t make it, and that we would have to reschedule.

As I started to walk away, I saw a new bus enter the terminal. It looked like the right bus, but the marquee didn’t have the bus route number on it. The sign just said “To Terminal.” So I headed back to my stop and waited for another few minutes.  Maybe the driver was just stopping to use the facilities and then we'd be on our way.

I got so frustrated waiting that I walked up to the bus driver to ask if that was bus A, and he said, “Yes...”

"When will you be leaving?"

"Good question. We’re just so far behind, because we can only go 30 mph with snow chains on."

He told me to go back to my stop, and then he sauntered on over to his sedan and left!

ARGH!!!!!!!!!

No more waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I walked home and telecommuted.