Again with the snow, plus other insults to my person

[scarlettina]

Falling again. Spanky and Merlin are both sitting by the balcony door, watching. Outside, I hear the scrape of a snow shovel on sidewalk.

I miss other people. I miss my friends. I was miserably ill last year through the holidays and missed all the parties; I was hoping to make it up this year. Unless a miracle happens, this year will be a repeat. I hate this.

Also? I was awakened at 7:30 by a call from a recruiter on the east coast with an Indian accent so thick I could barely understand her. She called both my landline and my cell--twice. I missed the calls but got the voicemail. It was urgent-urgent-urgent. She was from an agency I've never heard of before. And all I could think was that there's no job so urgent that it couldn't wait until a decent hour. And then, to add insult to injury, I walked into the bathroom to discover cat sick all over the floor.

Crab crab crab. I'm going to go have breakfast now.

ETA: Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly tells it like it is. I wrote my angry letter to the mayor yesterday, but I may write another one today, just to let off some steam. And a report in the PI discusses the risks vs benefits of salting roads. Welcome to Seattle, folks! Everything is a hand-wringing, angst-ridden discussion. ::sigh::

Comments

[e-bourne.livejournal.com]

If we had a four-wheel drive, we'd scoop you up and carry you off someplace where there are people and festivities and proof of life away from snow.

Alas, we do not.

We are snow-blocked with no way out. No way out. No way out. Red rum. Red rum. Red rum.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

::chuckle:: I appreciate the thought. (I'm going to go have breakfast now. Really.)

[kistha.livejournal.com]

Yes, well I'm at work because the crazy doctor had to come in - and I'm betting her car can't even get in the parking lot. I might not be able to get my CRV out if this keeps up. I could have driven to Bellingham last night, when it was safe, but now....who fucking knows.

This is the shittiest holiday season so far.

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

10:30am Eastern would be a perfectly fine time for recruiting calls for those in the same time zone. For Shame, geographically challenged recruiter! Check the time zones!

[ironymaiden]

Joel Connelly who couldn't be bothered to check the Metro website before he left his house?

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

A lot of people don't check the metro Web site before they leave the house. Some don't have internet access. Some people get stranded mid-trip. Did you see crooked_hill's most recent post?

All the bus service between my place and Fremont has been suspended for days now. I've walked it but it's treacherous. People at the top of Queen Anne have been without bus service for days now.

But it's not just about metro service. It's about garbage pick-up. Mail. And emergency services. What the city hasn't done to address street conditions far overwhelms what they have done, in my opinion. It's appalling.

[ironymaiden]

i understand what you're saying about emergency services. i'm lucky that i am in sledge-dragging distance of a hospital. Seattle certainly is not prepared for a ten-year snowstorm that does not melt off within three days, as our rare snows usually do. you are welcome to be incensed about the care of the roads even though none of this should be a surprise since you've lived here for more than a decade and this happens every single time it snows.

what i'm saying about Connelly and Metro is that riding the bus in bad weather requires thought and care, just like driving a car. if you don't call the info line (no internet required!) or check the website before you leave the house in inclement weather, it's as careless as running out of gas.

i'm glad that you have chosen to take action by contacting the mayor, and i suggest you follow up with city council members as well. i hope to hear about your continuing interest in this issue after the snow has melted.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Your carefully politic tone doesn't escape me. I know you're thinking that it's easy for me to talk when these services fail me; I've never bitched about them before and I'm not a regular Metro rider. Sometimes, all it takes is one incident to make someone pay attention.

I still think that, generally speaking, you're a far more thoughtful Metro passenger than many people are--you're the exception, not the rule. And I'm not the only one bitching. There are plenty of regular Metro riders bitching, too. And Metro wasn't my key point, nor was it Connelly's. It's not the only issue here. It's road conditions generally.

As for me being "welcome" to be incensed, thanks for the permission. I shouldn't be surprised? I'm not. I'm just frustrated as hell.

[oldmangrumpus.livejournal.com]

The important point isn't Metro - it's what Metro runs on, the streets. There should be some better plan for clearing them.

I would happily be spending time with you right now. Trust me.

[herself_nyc]

Odd, I got a phone call from an Indian-accented recruiter myself a couple weeks ago. I was very suspicious and basically told her to take me off her call list.

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

According to a friend who contracts regularly in technology, Indian-run contracting agencies are proliferating all over the US, generally paying less than American agencies and being incredibly aggressive. They're bringing the outsourcing model back to the US: provide cheaper labor, take higher percentages. They're completely legit. The question is, how much of the money you earn do you want to keep?

[dbara.livejournal.com]

I've been bombarded by this company called Artech. They are paying spit but I'm having them submit me anyway. Most of their contracts are short term, three months or even less sometimes.

And they are super-aggressive.

db

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

That's the company that got me out of bed this morning. I'm going to try to stick with more local agencies. They pay more and have more face time with local companies.

[dianora2.livejournal.com]

Isn't it really rare for Seattle to be experiencing snow like this? So, they can't use the rock salt, like, ONCE EVERY TEN YEARS? Good grief.

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

It is rare.

Which means that regardless of a willingness to use it or not, they:

1) don't have it around

2) don't have the equipment for spreading it even if they had it

3) are unlikely to invest in stockpiling such for something that happens so rarely

4) are running a massive deficit and by the time the economy clears up to the point where they could make the investment, this will be long forgotten.

[varina8.livejournal.com]

Good points, especially #3.

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

You are welcome any time over here, and the roads are such that we can easily claim you from either ferry dock. (and both of us are off for at least the next week or so.)

[singingnettle.livejournal.com]

I so hear ya, on every single point. We're also having Indian Recruiter Hell at our house, and also Can't Go Anywhere (And Nothing Within Walking Distance) Angst.

I am going to do a blanket mailing to recruiting agencies suggesting that I do phone screening (something I do for a few months every so often when I can't stand reading inexperienced writing anymore)--at least I can speak native English.

Re Seattle: the climate has changed. We now get snow. This is probably going to get more extreme as time goes on. We also get hot weather in the summer and much, much harder rains. We need to deal with it and stop thinking of ourselves as a city that's immune to weather.