Curse

William of Orange · Mar 30, 2005, 11:52 PM // 23:52

So earlier this morning, I was reading our local newspaper (yes, I'm only 18, and I actually read the newspaper), when I noticed that our local weather forecast called for a high of 55 degrees F and a chance of thunderstorms. Even at this point, the forecast was wrong; and the time of reading the high for the day, it was then 71 degrees, and it was only 7 in the morning.

Besides that, everything else seemed perfectly normal; a few clouds in the sky, yet the ever-ominous thunderstorm was visible far to the southeast, if only because of the dark line of coulds on the horizon. The school day runs with some semblence of normalcy; I had in two AP Euro essays (a three page Free Response Question written in 17 minutes and of actually decent quality, and a four page Document Based Question with a similiar quality level written in 44 minutes), only to be followed within minutes by a Fire Drill, forcing us to move outside for three to five minutes before we get the all-clear.

Throughout the day, I had heard from various people that the sky outside was beginning to look quite "evil;" the system was much closer to our humble Verona Area High School, though the day was still sunny and comfortable. Then my fifth hour class ends; as I walk towards my sixth hour Spanish Five class, I take a look outside, and notice that the storm was rapidly approaching, and it was easily discerned that this would not be your average storm. Talk begins to spread like wildfire throughout the class; people are visible distressed by the conjecture that a tornado might spawn from this beast, but I brush it off as mere hearsay. We are successfully able to play off of the impending fury and cause our Spanish teacher to get off track with a story about an earthquake she experienced while in Mexico City in 1981, but I kick my feet up in the back of the class and just relax.

Suddenly, we hear the city tornado siren go off. "Ahh, crap" is the first thought which passes through my head; after all, I didn't to take the risk of being stuck inside the school for any longer than I had to, since I have a seventh hour release and would be able to leave at 2:44 pm. So we take shelter in a neighborring room, and begin the waiting game; how long would it take until the warning was lifted? Was the tornado in the city, or were we in reality miles away from danger? What is that ranky odor I smell wafting from the other side of the room?

We flip on the television, and change the station to find Bob Lindmeier, meteorologist extraordinaire, hoping to get some insight into our current predicament. Turned out that we actually had nothing to worry about; the system was far to the north by the time the warning had been issued, and had already travelled to an entirely different county. We were still forced to wait until Verona's Finest issued the all-clear though, so I proceeded to chat with some of the female students of my class, and find myself dragged into some form of a schoolgirl game involving singing a song and slapping each other's hands. I talk with one girl about the PSP and DS, demonstrate my superior knowledge of both systems, and try to take a nap.

Finally, at 2:59 PM, 15 minutes after I should have been able to leave school, the warning is lifted, and I can feel relief wash over me. I converse quickly with friends, jump into my black 1993 Toyota Celica GT-S, race home, and hop onto GWG to check the progress of the forums.

Goes to show you that no matter what, a good tornado can always throw off the best laid plans. Don't mess with Mother Nature

Tur713 · Mar 31, 2005, 01:18 AM // 01:18

Yeah, I hate those tornado warnings here in California. It happens so often too...Okay, not really at all, but we do still have actual proceedures on the topic if it just so happens that we get one right ij the middle of the valley. Lol, actually, we did have one a couple of weeks ago (very, very rare) in Sacramento, it nudged a car, and it was all over the news. I bet you that guy never saw that one coming.

Jeanette · Mar 31, 2005, 01:38 AM // 01:38

hahaha sounds scary, fun, and really exciting! And the singing/slap game is fun

HotSnack · Mar 31, 2005, 01:54 AM // 01:54

...Wait, what? Being delayed by 15 minutes isn't really a 'victory' for Nature at all.

Now if instead you had just described the tornado crossing over to the next county, taking out said county's tallest landmarks, followed by having their local Neo-Pagan claiming it's Nature's way of teaching mankind some humility, then maybe Nature has won 'this' battle for now.

JjK · Mar 31, 2005, 02:01 AM // 02:01

I hate these experiences..They happen here in Kansas quite often...*shivers*

fawgre · Mar 31, 2005, 02:25 AM // 02:25

Oh wow, local, you pretty much described my day today except for the Wisconsin part (I live in Chicago-ish), the lack of Spring Break today, and the AP Euro your Senior year? That was our one and only AP class offered Sophomore year, I can't imagine that being an advanced-type Senior topic after the joke experience I went through.

Reading the newspapers must be a Midwestern 18-Year-Old-Thing, I read four papers on the train to and from Chicago yesterday out of insane boredom. I can't say I learned anything, except that "Elephants don't like beer."

It was maybe 70 the entire day, with a soft breeze ambling across the plains, so I seriously doubted the whole "Thunderstorm, Tornado, You Might Want To Hide" stuff until about 6:00 or 7:00 when the sky suddenly turned dark and the torrential downpour started. I was like, wait, hang on, we just got over Winter, I'm not ready for Early Summer yet. So in a shockingly stark contrast to the beginning of the day it's pitch black and various nasty noises keep scaring me from outside. I just hope the lightening doesn't knock out the power, and, consequently, my connection to the internet.

My boyfriend is flying home from California in this weather... that should be fun.

Soiled Egg Roll · Mar 31, 2005, 02:46 AM // 02:46

You described my day perfectly, even the Wisconsin part...sigh

fawgre · Mar 31, 2005, 02:48 AM // 02:48

It's ok, Wisconsin is cool. At least the Dells are, and Lake Geneva. I hear you have good cheese.

Soiled Egg Roll · Mar 31, 2005, 02:50 AM // 02:50

Oh well, last week there was still like a foot of snow on the ground...which happen to be my spring break week. It got warm right when school starts up again

I guess it's Mother nature: 2 Me: 0 for this week.

fawgre · Mar 31, 2005, 02:53 AM // 02:53

I have Spring Break this week, and it's going to rain all next week... I hate driving to school in the rain because you're surrounded by about 500 horrible teenage drivers. Our parking lot is like a death trap in the rain. It's bad enough in the snow, when the white stuff covers up the lines and we all just make up spaces as we go....

William of Orange · Mar 31, 2005, 05:22 AM // 05:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by HotSnack

...Wait, what? Being delayed by 15 minutes isn't really a 'victory' for Nature at all.

Au contraire, being delayed even 15 minutes from my salvation of that which they call the school day is a big deal, something which Mother Nature obviously intended to block as punishment for something I've done in the past. I don't think that I've ever disrepected Nature before, unless she's just pissed because of those few times I've gone streaking...

But that was only to keep alive the cross country tradition if we make it to the state meet, so it was justified

William of Orange · Mar 31, 2005, 10:00 PM // 22:00

So as some of you have already seen, the day which I experienced was rather interesting. For those of you who have not read the story yet, you can find it at the top of this page, the first post. But the story which unfolded before my very eyes today was an even better story than my retelling of Nature's Wrath...

After all of the drama which happened yesterday with the severe weather, the hail (which I failed to mention in the original story), and the eventual tornado, I was ready for a break from the excitement. I started my day just like any other; alarm goes off at 6:45 AM, I roll out of bed, hop on the computer and check out my Utopia (online text-based game) account and the overnight happenings here at GWG. I ended up skipping breakfast since I had had quite the large dinner last night, a move that seemed, at least for a few minutes later in the day, to have serious consequences for me.

I headed to school, talked with my friends for a while, and then headed to my first hour AP Statistics class. Nothing special there; our teacher is stupid, we worked on an incredible easy assignment, and I was fortunate enough to have a couple of bouncy balls with me to pass the time. First hour ends, and my second hour AP European History class arrives; we breeze through the Second World War (or World War I Part B as he so aptly describes it), and I demonstrate my superiority over my classmates as I easily handle any questions tossed my way. And you thought the genocide of the Armenians before World War I (Part A) was brutal...

Third hour arrives, with nothing special to report either; we're about to make a recording of the "War of the Worlds" radio transmission by Orson Wells, since we're "studying" the book in our class. But fourth hour was where the fun begins. I leisurely stroll up to class, thinking about how good this Mocassin Thursday had been; for those of you who are confused about that last comment, I have officially declared that all Thursdays are now Mocassin Thursdays, and I have worn mocassins every Thursday for the past two months in homage to this day.

I head to my locker, replace my backpacks load of supplies with my chemistry book and notebooks, and head back to the classroom. It's only then that I notice there is some sort of conference going on between the science teachers; from what I overhear as I slip past them, one of the newer teachers is feeling somewhat sick, and my teacher tells him that he should leave for the day and get some rest. Somewhat confused, I head to my seat and brush it off, thinking that he just had a rough night yesterday.

However, I soon found out exactly why the teacher had become ill. Apparently, at the end of the second period, a freshman ESL (English as a Second Language) student had decided that it would be a good idea to pour some 6.0 molar hydrocholic acid over a chunk of an unknown substance. Unfortunately for him, the substance happened to be potassium thiocyanate. For anybody who knows almost anything related to chemistry, you can quickly deduce that, by mixing the HCl with the KSCN, you get these two lovely products:

1) HS, also known as hydrogen sulfide. For information on the effects of HS on humans, check out this link: http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic258.htm
2) HSCN, also known as hydrogen thiocyanate. Basically, it's a poisonous gas which is not good for people to inhale.

Our teacher assured us that the lab where the reaction had occured had been closed off, and the ventilation system was taking care of the excess gas which had been released. Thus assured, we headed into one of the neighboring labs to continue on our Qualitative Analysis lab.

However, about 20 minutes into the class period, our teacher suddenly tells us that we have to evacuate to the Performing Arts Center (PAC), and to take all of our things with us. Apparently, the situation was much worse than they had originally anticipated, and due to the fact that the gas had been allowed to drift for a few minutes until any ventilation had begun, the entire wing we were in could have been affected by it, although in much smaller doses than the people who were present when the accident happened. Of course, I didn't know what was going on at first and just headed with the crowd into our classroom, asking why we were leaving, until somebody finally let me know that we had to head out.

"Wow, two days in a row where I've gotten to miss class. This is an awesome Mocassin Thursday."

But then a thought struck me; our lunch was to begin in about 15 minutes, and I had not eaten in about 18 hours. Oops. We take a seat in the PAC, and discussion begins over what happened, how long we would have to wait here, and whether or not we would be allowed to eat lunch. Thankfully, they did let people who had not yet eaten go to the lunchroom and eat, so that crisis was avoided, and I was happy for the time being.

After lunch, my friend and I went back into the PAC for fifth hour to talk with some friends who were told to stay in the room because they were unable to reach their own classroom, since the Haz-Mat team had showed up and blocked off the entire wing, which just so happened to include the area where my locker, most of my school supplies, and car keys were located. Oops. And I had even thought to bring my car keys with me today, but opted instead to leave them in my locker. Bad call.

Fifth hour ends, and I talk with the female friend who I just happen to be interested in at the time, and we joke about how I can't get home, and that it'll suck having to walk the 12 miles back to my house. Suddenly, an annoucement rings over the loud speakers; classes in the closed-off wing are being relocated, and I find myself trekking to the other building, located almost as far away as possible from where I had been talking to my interest at, and tell people about how I'm not going to get home. Sympathy and "awwwwws" are rained upon me, and I bask in the attention.

Sixth hour begins; people no longer are able to concentrate on anything, and I seriously contemplate just packing up my things and wandering down to a friends house to play some Medal of Honor: The Rising Sun. Our Spanish teacher shows up late (as usually), and, much to our dismay, attempts to actually teach in the midst of the chaos which is now my life. Luckily, our principals voice booms over the PA system, and that's when the real fun begins...

The entire main building is now being evacuated. Students who have cars or are within walking distance of their homes and free to leave. But even this joyous statement brings with it some drama; the classroom we were located to is not in the main building. Will we be able to leave as well, since almost the rest of the entire school population is flooding out of the school? At first, our teacher resists, saying that she has special instructions, and continues to go over the answers to our latest busy work. A few minutes later, salvation arrives, in the form of a slender woman with a snobby air to her: "All teachers are to assist with the overseeing of the students who are unable to leave at this time, and all students who have cars or can walk home are free to go."

Hallelujah!!

But the excitement of school being closed is lessened for me, for three reasons:

1. I have no access to my locker; therefore, I can not pick up any assignments, or even get to my car keys. I have not yet made a replacement set, so even if I got a hold of my parents, it would do me no good in being able to use my car.
2. The lot which I parked in this morning has been closed off, and no unauthorized vehicles are allowed to enter or leave. So even if I had been able to get a hold of my keys, I would not have been able to go anywhere. Oops.
3. I was unlucky enough to get stuck with the only books that I did not want to have in my bag; AP Chemistry. We have two homework assignments and a lab due tomorrow, and I'm now stuck in having to actually do them. I would have done them even if an accident had not occured, but our teacher knew that we had all of our chemistry materials with us, so I had no option to say that it was stuck in my locker and I couldn't get to it.

I call my mother and let her know what's going on, because I'm a good son like that (not really, but I would have had to tell her at some point, and I had some time to kill). I end up hitching a ride off of our classes triplets; the two I'm more familiar with are nice, but the third one, and the one who had been using the car prior to our calling to get picked up, was somewhat more...rude. Not to me, of course, but mainly towards her sisters. Women love me

We wait about 20 minutes for the third triplet to finally show up, it takes about 15 minutes to get home, since their old 1993 Ford Escort Wagon LX was maxed out at between 60 and 65 mph, even on the highway. I reach my house, get the mail, head upstairs, and hop on the computer, so that I can share with the audience out there around GWG can hear about my experiences.

And there you have it. Doesn't my life sound fun?

Later.

Azrael · Mar 31, 2005, 10:19 PM // 22:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by William of Orange

So earlier this morning, I was reading our local newspaper (yes, I'm only 18, and I actually read the newspaper)

Say it ain't so! JK, I read the paper too(except sports...I hate sports) and I'm 14.