We had an island-wide power outage last night, which is pretty unusual even for Guam. The wife and I hung out on the walkway in front of our apartment after it happened, enjoying the really cool wind that was blowing and talking. It was one of those moments where a husband and wife just hang out and talk, and it was really great. She had me laughing hard several times, and in spite of no electricity, I really enjoyed it a lot. There are occasions when my wife gets on my last damn nerve, but it’s times like last night that more than make up for it, times ten.
The power finally came back on after nearly two hours, and the wife retired to the bedroom while I started watching some TV. Shortly afterward, I get called in to work, because the power outage has caused some issues that required my attention. As soon as I got in the car to come to work, it was apparent that power had only been restored in certain places and not on the entire island. Most of Tamuning was still dark, none of the street lights and stop lights were working, and things just felt quiet. It was kind of surreal in a very weird way.
When I got to work, I found that while we weren’t in crisis mode, there were several issues that still needed to be resolved. Ironically, none of them really required my attention, so I hung out in our Network Operations Center and rendered what assistance I could.
There were several moments that were mildly amusing, and some that were just flat-out hilarious. At one point, I went and dug a bag of M & M’s out of my desk, and we all started munching on them. One of the guys handed the bag to one of the Japanese women that work with us, making a subtle mention that she really should try to eat all of the green ones. Apparently, the legend that green M&M’s make you horny has not made it into Japanese popular culture, as her reaction didn’t change while everyone else, including one of the company executives, cracked up laughing. I was dying, holding my sides laughing so hard.
Some other things of interest that happened during the evening. One of the guys who works on infrastructure, who is a known alcoholic, rolled in blind drunk and speaking in gibberish. When you can smell the booze from 10 feet away, you know that someone is wasted and shouldn’t be trusted with anything more complicated than sitting his ass in a chair and doing nothing, meaning that he’s completely useless. The ironic thing is that this same person, when sober, is generally considered to be mildly retarded. Anything that requires some deep thought is met with the deer in the headlights look.
Another guy who was out “in the field” I caught in a HUGE lie about getting access to one of our sites. I let everyone assembled know, including the guy who is his protector in the company that, in no uncertain terms, what he was saying was in fact complete bullshit, I then went about explaining why it was bullshit. Why this guy hasn’t been fired yet is a mystery, since everyone in my department knows him to be completely useless and protected by one of the executives in the company. My statement that the guy was lying was met by smiles and chuckles by most of the people present, and earned me a dirty look from the executive that protects this turd of a technician and human being.
I got back home about midnight, where The Gorgeous One, having taken the pain medications that the doctor prescribed for her neck/arm, was in Zombie Land, sleeping the sleep of the just. I kissed her, cleaned myself up a bit, and crawled in bed, falling asleep in a matter of minutes. Before I fell asleep, I thought about what had just happened, and must say that if I have to be called in to work, that was one of the more pleasant ways to spend it.
Yup, just another night on the island of Guam, where Weirdness is the Standard.
The power finally came back on after nearly two hours, and the wife retired to the bedroom while I started watching some TV. Shortly afterward, I get called in to work, because the power outage has caused some issues that required my attention. As soon as I got in the car to come to work, it was apparent that power had only been restored in certain places and not on the entire island. Most of Tamuning was still dark, none of the street lights and stop lights were working, and things just felt quiet. It was kind of surreal in a very weird way.
When I got to work, I found that while we weren’t in crisis mode, there were several issues that still needed to be resolved. Ironically, none of them really required my attention, so I hung out in our Network Operations Center and rendered what assistance I could.
There were several moments that were mildly amusing, and some that were just flat-out hilarious. At one point, I went and dug a bag of M & M’s out of my desk, and we all started munching on them. One of the guys handed the bag to one of the Japanese women that work with us, making a subtle mention that she really should try to eat all of the green ones. Apparently, the legend that green M&M’s make you horny has not made it into Japanese popular culture, as her reaction didn’t change while everyone else, including one of the company executives, cracked up laughing. I was dying, holding my sides laughing so hard.
Some other things of interest that happened during the evening. One of the guys who works on infrastructure, who is a known alcoholic, rolled in blind drunk and speaking in gibberish. When you can smell the booze from 10 feet away, you know that someone is wasted and shouldn’t be trusted with anything more complicated than sitting his ass in a chair and doing nothing, meaning that he’s completely useless. The ironic thing is that this same person, when sober, is generally considered to be mildly retarded. Anything that requires some deep thought is met with the deer in the headlights look.
Another guy who was out “in the field” I caught in a HUGE lie about getting access to one of our sites. I let everyone assembled know, including the guy who is his protector in the company that, in no uncertain terms, what he was saying was in fact complete bullshit, I then went about explaining why it was bullshit. Why this guy hasn’t been fired yet is a mystery, since everyone in my department knows him to be completely useless and protected by one of the executives in the company. My statement that the guy was lying was met by smiles and chuckles by most of the people present, and earned me a dirty look from the executive that protects this turd of a technician and human being.
I got back home about midnight, where The Gorgeous One, having taken the pain medications that the doctor prescribed for her neck/arm, was in Zombie Land, sleeping the sleep of the just. I kissed her, cleaned myself up a bit, and crawled in bed, falling asleep in a matter of minutes. Before I fell asleep, I thought about what had just happened, and must say that if I have to be called in to work, that was one of the more pleasant ways to spend it.
Yup, just another night on the island of Guam, where Weirdness is the Standard.
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