Thursday, December 18, 2008

Barefoot in the Snow Up Hill Both Ways


I took the bus to work last night half anticipating that I might get stuck there in the morning waiting for day shift to come in with all the snow. I had "prepared" myself for such possibilities by packing an extra set of scrubs, socks and three times the amount of food as the usual.
All night long I found myself peeking out the window, each time expecting to see the promised snow. Finally at about 2am, I noticed some tiny flakes drifting sluggishly to the ground by the light of a lamp post. Next thing I knew it was 0730; the day shift was actually HERE and the snow was accumulating quickly.
I checked the sound transit website "just to make sure" and then headed out to catch my bus. We got rerouted on our way home due to road closures, bus spinnouts and thick layers of ice. By the time the bus finally dropped us off, I found myself in the northern portion of downtown Kirkland. So... It was nice morning walk up to the university campus in a winter wonderland wearing scrubbs and clogs. How invigoratine after having worked all night! Unfortunately the snow was little too deep for my shoes and I ended up with a good amount of snow in my clogs. (Yes, I actually had planned ahead for that too, but I had left my boots in the my car at the park and ride. I hadn't anticipated this bus reroute.)
When I arrived at the university, the campus was open and my nursing students were about to sit down to their final. Poor Dr. C. had left his house long before dawn to fill in and administer the test. I also learned (from the students) that he had left his car in Bellevue and walked over an hour and a half to get to campus. Now that's dedication. Had I beat him there I would have called him so he could get back home before he got too stuck and administered the test myself. We had roughly tied however, so it didn't matter; the exam was taken by all who showed up. Afterward I held a little improv. "Cable Chains 101" session with a student's car.
Fortunately I have the only office on the campus to contain 6 beds. Yep... I watched "the blanket show" in my little lab in the bed right next to my intubated Santa mannequin. When I awoke, it was still snowing!


I checked the internet once more before going back out and found that my busses had been canceled and all the other busses rerouted. Once again I had to walk to downtown only this time, no bus! Down to Lake Wa BLVD I went and finally got a different bus which at least got me across 520.

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