Rain, Rain Go Away

I didn't have a chance to blog on the weekend as I was away at the cottage without Internet access.  I had fully intended to post last night after I got home from the monthly meeting of Journal Junkies at Bizzy B.  But of course, that was before it started to rain.

Started about 4:30 p.m. and didn't stop.  I decided to keep working in the hopes that it would soon taper off, because heavy rain like that usually blows over quickly.  Not this time!

I called the store about 6 p.m. and said I didn't think I'd be able to make it, as the rain was still going on and I could see traffic was bumper to bumper on every street visible from the 5th floor where I was working.  The power had gone off, the traffic lights weren't working and it was still raining.  The result was commuter chaos.

The rain continued.  Buckets of rain.  Rivers of rain.  Ponds and puddles and small lakes of rain.  Hung out with the very few people left in the office and discussed our options.

I walked downstairs in my office building with a couple of co-workers around 7:30 p.m. since the rain had finally tapered off to a mild sprinkle.  There had been some flooding the lobby but that had been dealt with quickly and efficiently.  We found this in the parking lot:

I debated whether to walk home, as it would only take me about a half hour but the sky was darkening again and I really didn't want to be walking in torrential rainfall as dusk approached.  So I stayed and helped out by acting as security at one of the exterior doors, since the locks didn't work without power.  I asked people to show their security cards as they entered, everyone was very understanding and friendly (not sure what I would have done if someone tried to gain entry who didn't belong, beat them off with my umbrella?).  Lots of swapping of stories.  Like the lady who had been trying to get to her home only 10 minutes away from the building and came back after 2.5 hours on the road getting nowhere, because she had run out of gas!  Eventually, as it was getting dark, they chained the doors shut and we all gathered in the lobby or went back to our respective offices.

Ventured out on the road around 9 p.m. only to turn back and return to the office when I realized I was only going to spend the next hour inching along in traffic.  Figured I'd be better off in the building, with company, snacks (we had raided various desk stashes for power bars, chocolate and Skittles!), beverages and most importantly, washroom facilities!

Finally the traffic cleared and off I went, got home in half an hour (normally it's a 10 to 15 minute drive but things were slower with no traffic lights) at 11 p.m.  Found one of the last parking spots on the street (since the underground parking garages were partially flooded) and walked up 14 flights of stairs to cuddle my cats and fall gratefully into my bed.

Still no power this morning, so I slept in, took my time getting ready (somehow, we had cold running water so I washed my hair in the sink and had a wee sponge bath) and then headed down the stairs and back to the office, where they had full power.

All in all, quite the adventure.  I'm hoping that's the end of it, but there are more rain and thunderstorms in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow ("possibly heavy at times", they are saying).  I'm sure I'm not the only one hoping the forecasts are wrong!