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News & ArtsMonday, December 22, 2008
Mailbag Are You Going to Work Today?
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 8:57 AM
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)
3
Stay home! Service vehicles cannot do their jobs clearing the roads unless people stay off them. Plus, there is absolutely no reason to put yourself in danger when you can avoid it.
6
None of my co-workers would be in today, it's slow this time of year and my office is always cold-- not going in. It was canceled.
Y'all rock, co-workers, but snow? Snow way.
Y'all rock, co-workers, but snow? Snow way.
8
Don't be a fucking pussy, a little snow can't stop this city. We built this city on rock and stone.
10
Does seattle not own a single slow plow? This is getting semi-ridiculous. Although I'm not complaining about the day off.
11
Yeah, don't go to work...unless you work at the Safeway I want to walk to, or the coffeehouse I want to hit, or...
13
My employer has an adverse weather hotline, as of 8AM today all but of our facilities in W WA are open. Ha. I called my work's sick line at 6AM, explaining that my car was buried and that the street is deep with snow. Emailed my boss about this, she called back and said not to worry. She was stuck at home too, can't understand why our employer would stay open. If I had a way of working remotely, I would gladly do it. I am caught up with Christmas to-do's in a ridiculous Martha Stewart kind of way. Cleaning out the basement is next...
The really bad news for me will be with the upcoming paychecks. 3 days out so far, no vacation pay to use. Ugh.
Anyway, with buses in such a mess and cars buried, I think employers are unreasonable if they don't cut employees slack in this weather.
I think employers
The really bad news for me will be with the upcoming paychecks. 3 days out so far, no vacation pay to use. Ugh.
Anyway, with buses in such a mess and cars buried, I think employers are unreasonable if they don't cut employees slack in this weather.
I think employers
14
@10
No, no it's simply not true. In fact, yesterday I walked from Cap Hill to the I.D. for some delicious dim sum and I saw City of Seattle plows...
Umm, precisely two and one wasn't even plowing. I think there was too much snow for the "little plow that could."
I think I can, I think I can...(make it up James w/out getting stuck)
Me, I think I'm going on a nice "leisurely" drive to Olympia. Won't be any worse than some of the days driving to the mountains for skiing Of course payoff is nowhere near as good, but still.
No, no it's simply not true. In fact, yesterday I walked from Cap Hill to the I.D. for some delicious dim sum and I saw City of Seattle plows...
Umm, precisely two and one wasn't even plowing. I think there was too much snow for the "little plow that could."
I think I can, I think I can...(make it up James w/out getting stuck)
Me, I think I'm going on a nice "leisurely" drive to Olympia. Won't be any worse than some of the days driving to the mountains for skiing Of course payoff is nowhere near as good, but still.
15
Me too, OM. I called my boss and he said that since the Delridge exit looked clear, we should all come in...
Not that he's in yet, of course. There are currently 3 people in the office, 1 in the warehouse, and 2 in production. And considering I'm the only one who takes the bus, I don't know what everyone else's excuses are.
Not that he's in yet, of course. There are currently 3 people in the office, 1 in the warehouse, and 2 in production. And considering I'm the only one who takes the bus, I don't know what everyone else's excuses are.
18
I walked two miles and then took a bus to get in to work. I refuse to use let the weather steal all of my precious vacation days.
19
I'm at the office now. My cousin Sarah texted me that she lifted three wallets and an unlocked iPhone from fellow passengers standing on her crowded bus. She says she's kidding, but I never know with her.
21
Just walked 4 miles down Eastlake/Fairview due to spun out bus. Hardly anyone else in the office bothered. Harumph
25
I'm not at work because the U is closed. The husband is not at work because his office is closed (all his coworkers live on the Eastside). I am going fucking stir-crazy.
27
walked in to work from 17th and union and the sidewalks are quite annoying. i dont look forward to walking the mile or so home later this afternoon, up the hill in what feels like walking on sand.
29
I walked from Maple Leaf to work downtown. There was no fucking busses running until 6 am from the U-District.
BTW, I thought Mayor Lard-Ass promised us the streets would be plowed, we would be ready blah blah blah..... Why won't someone run against him?!?!?!? Please??????
BTW, I thought Mayor Lard-Ass promised us the streets would be plowed, we would be ready blah blah blah..... Why won't someone run against him?!?!?!? Please??????
30
@8:
Dude, that was totally, like, Frisco, you know?
My boss, who lives physically closer to my office than I do, called me at 9:00 a.m. (pre-arranged) and told me he wasn't coming in, and since my keys were "conveniently" left on my desk on Wednesday, there's no point in my going in if he's not.
Mmmm, brandied coffee in the morning...
Dude, that was totally, like, Frisco, you know?
My boss, who lives physically closer to my office than I do, called me at 9:00 a.m. (pre-arranged) and told me he wasn't coming in, and since my keys were "conveniently" left on my desk on Wednesday, there's no point in my going in if he's not.
Mmmm, brandied coffee in the morning...
32
It took a little over an hour of waiting for a bus to arrive, but here I am, at work downtown. Too many of my co-workers live downtown or on Capitol Hill, so we never close due to adverse weather. Now, if I actually had some work to do now that I'm here...
33
I am working from home, but if you work at the supermarket you should go to work.
Some of us need diapers and formula!
Some of us need diapers and formula!
34
I came to work... But only because my dad was going to work too. He works down the street from where I work so I got him to pick me up drive me in the SUV.
On the one hand I felt retarded for trekking through 15" (WTF!) of snow just to get to work... Especially since I only had about 10 minutes of work to get done. On the other hand I figure it'll be nice to get a full paycheck and hopefully this adventure out of the house will put a stop to the building feeling of cabin fever.
On the one hand I felt retarded for trekking through 15" (WTF!) of snow just to get to work... Especially since I only had about 10 minutes of work to get done. On the other hand I figure it'll be nice to get a full paycheck and hopefully this adventure out of the house will put a stop to the building feeling of cabin fever.
35
Working from home and feeling guilty about it. But why should I spend an hour or more getting into work when I could work from home and make things easier on everyone?
36
It just does not seem right. Roads are nearly impossible to drive. Buses are shut down. Cars a buried in a huge amount of snow. What the fuck are people suppose to do when they are nowhere near walking didtance from work? People I know are being asked to come in for non-essential work or asked to take their precious vacation time since there will be nothing for them to do anyway during this snow time! So I had to take to the road for 2+ hours, nearly getting myself killed, having all the walkers shaking their head at me and jaywalking right in front of me as I build my momentum to get to the top of the hill, to drop them off so they can sit around and do nothing all day.
37
Waited for a bus from the U to downtown for two hours and gave up. Just NOW I get an email from work saying the office is closed. Thanks, buds.
38
My workplace that rocks has been closed since Thursday and we get full salary, plus we don't have to use vacation/sick/personal time.
On the other end of the spectrum, my husband's maniacal boss called an 8 a.m. mandatory meeting this morning for all employees.
On the other end of the spectrum, my husband's maniacal boss called an 8 a.m. mandatory meeting this morning for all employees.
39
My bus was running, so I went. If your bus is running, go. Keep an eye on busview.org, though, to see if it's actually running.
40
My annoyance is that I'm already on vacation this week. So my co-workers possibly get free vacation days while I'm using up vacation time.
42
I've been out of work for 8 months. Finally found a job last week, but since this crap started, only been able to get work 3 out of last 5 days, whicih means my 1st check is less than what I'm was getting in unemployment. Merry Fucking christmas.
44
(1) Own your life: go to work or don't, but asking for permission from your local alternative newspaper is just sad.
(2) There is NO weather related reason not to go to work today. I'm getting tired of all this hand wringing over piddly weather bumps. Understand: there is a difference between SNOW and ICE. The former is just annoying, the latter causes accidents. We have lots of snow right now and almost no ice.
(2) There is NO weather related reason not to go to work today. I'm getting tired of all this hand wringing over piddly weather bumps. Understand: there is a difference between SNOW and ICE. The former is just annoying, the latter causes accidents. We have lots of snow right now and almost no ice.
45
@44 - please come downtown and look at the roads - then tell me there's no ice about.
Or you can tell it to all the people who were waiting for the buses that were stuck on Eastlake cos they couldn't get up the hill without it being plowed/sanded.
It's a valid discussion - some people are doing good community service by making it into work today. Being an admin person, with all my bosses working from home - it's really not very vital for me to be here.
Or you can tell it to all the people who were waiting for the buses that were stuck on Eastlake cos they couldn't get up the hill without it being plowed/sanded.
It's a valid discussion - some people are doing good community service by making it into work today. Being an admin person, with all my bosses working from home - it's really not very vital for me to be here.
46
Just got to work (walked from Aloha/10th to downtown 2nd and Union area) and I am all by myself.
The bosses are throwing in an extra days pays for this. Shhh... don't tell my coworker.
The bosses are throwing in an extra days pays for this. Shhh... don't tell my coworker.
47
Well I drove my saab convertible from the CD to Kent this morning and it wasn't really that difficult. But I grew up in Montana so there is already something suspect about me and my judgement.
The problem now is how to stretch 30 minutes of work to fill 8 hours of workday.
The problem now is how to stretch 30 minutes of work to fill 8 hours of workday.
48
#44--plenty of snow and ice in snohomish county where I work and chose not to go today since I don't have a 4WD SUV with chains.
49
My girlfriend is stuck at my apartment.
This isn't a complaint, just a pleasant side effect of the bad weather.
This isn't a complaint, just a pleasant side effect of the bad weather.
50
@45 & @48: just curious: are either of you from cold climates? I don't ask to be a dick, but I'm from MN and my idea of ice might be different from yours.
The two bigs storms two years ago? *THAT* was ice. Nothing I've seen in the last 48 hours is anything like that.
The two bigs storms two years ago? *THAT* was ice. Nothing I've seen in the last 48 hours is anything like that.
51
@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.
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.
52
I tried. I waited in the cold and 10" of snow for an hour this morning. No bus. No work. But I tried.
53
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.
54
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.
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.
55
@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.
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.
56
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.
57
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.
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.
58
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.
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