BLITEOTW

So...

Anyone know where all the Mormons and Buddhists are? It's like they all vanished....

ETA:

Security Drill time! I hate days like this. Even if it is nice out.

A bunch of guys in suits just walked under our bridge (the HR dept is across the street, so we have a connector), in the taxi lane. No taxis, which is quite odd as we almost always have a stack ten deep. Anyway, they were walking towards the college buildings across the street. I have to guess that there is some sort of engineering conference, as there aren't a lot of students on campus in the summer.

I'm glad I'm not with them. I couldn't stand a full day of PowerPoint.

ETA2:

The computer room is oddly comforting, as it is beeping and whirring like normal.

Security drill was boring -- instead of outside, we all went to the auditorium where they told us they'd be keeping extra locks up all day since so few people were here. I never go near the gates (don't smoke), so I am not impacted.

Hee! Looks like our big boss just arrived by helicopter! He usually has a driver bring him. Neat!

BLITEOTW

Just.... dayum!

That group of engineers seems to have stopped to mill about in a park across the street. The company owns the park, so it isn't college property, but it seems to fit in with the scheme there. Anyway.... about five homeless guys have taken up a quasi-residence along the back wall, which isn't great (they tend to like the shrubs for their toilet) but they don't bother anyone, so I just keep to my business when I walk across to the bank.

They must have said something to the suits, because they have beaten those homeless guys into the sidewalk! There's blood everywhere, and the suits are just milling about. I tried calling the cops but 911 is clogged (hey, in this county, that means Betty Sue and Billie May have called each other so they could take a smoking break).

Speaking of, just about every smoker in the building seems to be at the shed outside -- just standing around. I can't even see anyone smoking from this window. I guess they're talking about how quiet it is, or about how the boss flew in on a helicopter (over their head on the top floor of our parking garage is one of our three landing pads). There must be about 75 people in an area that comfortably holds about 20. Nervous people travel in packs, I guess.

I see the helicopter coming back! Kicks up a lot of dust, donchaknow.

Apparently so have the smokers. You'd think they'd huddle inside to avoid having their habits put out, but they're headed for the stairs up. That's kinda odd. "Let's all welcome the arrival of the Board by smoking at them!" Yeah, that makes a good impression, guys.

BLITEOTW

Wow.... It's been a day....

The smokers caused some kind of commotion. Enough that security deployed to quell the crowd. Didn't work, and one of the smokers ripped off the arm of one of the guards! Apparently some of our security force are retired or off-duty police, as the hail of gunfire sent all of us on MY floor (well, the seven of us that were still working) to the other side of the building, behind the elevator wells!

I tried 911 again, but I couldn't get through to an ambulance company. I called the health center, but the line was busy, so I'm guessing they got the word from some other employee. By the time I got up the nerve to check the windows, there were bodies strewn all over the helipad level. Nobody was arriving in the chopper, though -- it was here to take away the Directors (judging from all the suits). Company meeting offsite, I thought, but there were four more copters hovering nearby, and it seemed awfully inefficient to leave that way instead of just calling for a limo.

So, we went to the other side of the building, and you could see the pack of engineers and college students milling around the main entrance, which had been closed. I've never seen that gate locked, but after the fight from earlier, I wasn't surprised. Still, there were enough people to jam up the street, so no cars could get through. Fortunately the rear exit was clear, so I decided to knock off work and head home for games night. I wasn't allowed to use the normal exit, but instead went out through an underground ramp used by the warehouse. There was a police escourt, and we were cleared along the main road to the interstate. It was like a disaster drill gone bad.

Strangely, the drive home was quite easy, but there were plenty of cars that had been pulled to the side by tow companies and the HERO trucks. I had to drive on the left side to avoid them, and I would have been more worried about being in the commuter lane had there not been security checkpoints every few miles that directed me to keep on the left. And, boy were they asking odd questions. Ever had a cop stop you and ask if you were feeling hungry? Made me wish I had a few cans of Coke to hand out, ya know?

I'd been trying to call elfgirl, but she either wasn't answering or the cell lines were jammed. She was getting things ready for games night, so I wasn't too worried. We were expecting madmexican, thegreyman, and keiracaitlyn. I made it home without any disruptions, beyond a few more checkpoints. There was some big event going on at the Methodist and Baptist churches, which were packed and had their own police managing traffic and asking those same weird questions. Elf seemed oblivious about the day's issues, since she'd been cleaning up and was dealing with da firfey.....

There had been a few issues, and after da firfey had snuck off for a while, she had been sent to her room for biting the friend she ran off to see. She was sleeping fitfully and making odd noises when I got home, but otherwise kept to herself while we played Apples to Apples and Gloom. MadMex never showed up. I'm kinda worried about him. Maybe he was secretly Buddhist?

Anyway, I'm about to sit down and see what's on the TiVo, or maybe watch the news. I've heard a few sirens in the distance, and some that seemed awfully close. Oh, and the helicopter overflights are terribly late for normal military traffic here.