On the Sidelines

So it's Saturday morning, and I just went for a run at around 7:45 AM.  I hate running.  And I love sleeping.  Indeed, the idea of leaving my beautiful girlfriend in the bed while I go sweat outside seems highly counter-intuitive.  But running clears my head.  And I'm distracted and couldn't sleep.  And it was a woman that had me all wrapped up.  This woman.....

Yes, Hurricane Irene has me feeling down.  Not because I'm scared of losing electricity or my roof falling off.  Though our power company is so awful it's like their Satan's Electricians. If you see the track of the storm, not only does it pass over my current city of Washington, DC, but it also passes over the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for whom I used to work.  And right now, I'd be 40 feet underground in a Cold War bunker west of Boston, preparing for landfall with a bunch of other people.  But instead, I'm sitting sweating on my couch. 

This is the first time in my professional career that I've not had a position that is working when other people aren't.  Living in Massachusetts, I never had to worry about my power going out or having enough food during Noreasters or blizzards.  Because where I would be was powered by huge Cat generators and there was always food 24 hours a day.  Don't get me wrong, I'm engaged in storm activities at my current job, but it's different.  It's about getting business and not helping people, though I suppose some could frame it as getting people's business will be helping them.  But I can't.

Even in DC, I want to know how where the city floods and how many boats we have and what the power outages are.  Although I should give Satan's Electricians credit for telling you in great detail where their customers are burning them in effigy.  I see I have neighbors out already.  This does not bode well, considering it's not yet started to rain. 

I want to be in a room with no windows and glowing plasma screens and terrible coffee.  And I want to sleep on an aerobed for 4 hours and consider myself well-rested.  I want to brief the Governor and have him know my name and trust my thoughts, because I had all that.  And it's hard sitting on the sidelines. 

I need to get back in...