I arrived there two minutes before my start time.
The commute came to a screeching halt where 294 and 290 meet, of course. My patience lasted until I had sat in park for five minutes.
Took the exit I was next to, intending to run eastbound a bit then loop the loop and head west, but westbound 290 was a parking lot for miles, so I scrapped that plan and headed for I-88.
I-88 to I-355, and missed my f-ing exit, which forced me to go farther down I-88 before I could turn around; and once I had, 355 was almost a parking lot, too.
Got to work, had to hit the can--after all, I'd been in the car for TWO HOURS AND SIX MINUTES--and by the time I was about ready to go into ready mode I was too late to be on time, not even the way they figure time there (they round to the nearest 15-minute interval). So I sat and tried to relax for seven minutes before clocking in fifteen minutes late.
And it was insane. There was a queue almost all day because the client was having a luncheon and also had a bunch of people out sick. Perfect.
I somehow managed to survive all that; and it took 1.75 hours to get home.
And there's no way to avoid it, particularly in the morning. The later I leave in the morning, the worse it will be; that intersection is still jammed up at 9 AM and the jam frequently reaches all the way down to Ogden Avenue.
Can't wait to start telecommuting, I can tell you that.
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Someone should remind Hollywood that it needs Georgia a lot more than Georgia needs Hollywood.
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Sue your former employer for wrongful termination and slander. Holy crap.
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Probably a good idea to avoid elevators while in Chicago. In a city as corrupt as Chicago? Psh. You take your life in your hands just by going there, for crying out loud.
SOmeone needs to learn to write:
A mechanical problem caused a half-dozen passengers nearly 1,000 feet above the Magnificent Mile to drop from the 95th level cocktail lounge at 875 N. Michigan Ave. to the building’s 11th floor....When a hoist cable breaks, that is not a "malfunction" but a FAILURE.
***
A broken hoist rope is reportedly to blame for the unexpected plummet. A series of back-up ropes brought the elevator to a stop, preventing serious injuries or worse.
Incidentally the "clack clack clack" one person mentions is the sound of the emergency brakes which are supposed to stop the elevator. The writer makes no mention of that; $5 says he listened with half an ear and then wrote out stuff that sounded about right to him rather than find out what broke and what worked to prevent the death of every person in that elevator car.
Here's how this happens:
1) City allows businesses to hire independent contractors and maintenance companies to keep their elevators in good trim.
2) City treats the repair records etc as "proof" that the system is in good repair but never audits anyone's records.
3) ...thus ensuring that the contractors can bill their customers every year for "compliance" without actually doing anything.
I'd wager there's also a step 4, where the union to which all the elevator repair guys belong gives nice fat campaign donations to the politicians.
* * *
...and there's been a shooting at a south side hospital. No one knows why yet. $5 says "gangs" or "drugs" or both. Any time there's a body count in that city, the approximate cause is "gangs".
* * *
Anyway, I need to cook dinner, and make a batch of brownies for tomorrow's pot luck; but after that, something dies in the dungeon. Argh!