no no, I'm not talking about former Charger Shawne Merriman. I'm talking about the HUGE power outage that left 1.4 MILLION people out of power yesterday 9/8/2011.
As you might know, I just recently got a job at a law office here in San Diego as a secretary. My duties are answering phones, taking referral calls, scanning, emailing, faxing, copying, filing, mailing....ALL stuff I never knew how to do. Also, I had never worked in an office setting before. Talk about night and day working in an elementary school classroom and then coming into an attorney office. I was excited yet very nervous. I went shopping with my mom and sister to buy nice business clothes and it's great to know that I can wear them without getting paint or glue splashed on them from my students.
It's a medium size firm and I have learned a ton. It is a very VERY intensive job and I had to learn quick. There is always something that needs to be done and not a time to sit and kick back. EVERYDAY I am learning new terms and learning a lot about law that I never knew before. I find it fascinating when I take referral calls and learn all the drama they are having! I proof read official documents that are better than any gossip magazine.
I've been here three weeks and this week I worked full time since the head secretary was gone for vacation. The pressure was on because in an attorney's office there is no room for error. You have to be PERFECT every time. I felt comfortable and was starting to get the hang of things.
This week I learned a lot about myself. I deal with a lot of angry people on the phone and I don't blame them. They are under tremendous stress and very upset. I am talking to them during the worst part of their lives for some. At first, I took it personally and quickly realized, I had to make a change. There was nothing personal against me, I was just doing my job. So I am slowly working on getting thicker skin and not taking anything personally in the business. Perhaps that's why attorney's get a bad rep but to be honest, they have to act that way to protect themselves.
Just like any new job and a new career path basically, it took time to get it down and used to it. I am beginning to really like working at a law firm and working with adults. Even though some adults I wish I could put in time out and no gold star for the day as I did with my students when they behaved badly.
I haven't given up education and believe there might be hope in the future for our education system. I hope it angers you just as much that it angers me how crappy our education system is and that there needs to be a change now before it's too late. It's literally the most important thing in the world and people need to be aware and also...I need a job:)
So back to the blackout. I was at work, washing dishes since someone ate tuna fish and it smelled HORRIBLE in the office. The sink was clogged so I flipped on the garbage disposal. 3 seconds of flipping the switch..ZZBBOOOOMmmmmmm the power goes OUT! ALL the attorney scream/yell "ohhh my document, My emailssss". I thought I blew the fuse and my heart went down into my stomach! Oh man I thought I would be in big doo doo. I kinda kept quiet to pray I didnt cause this but then I heard downtown lost power, then ALL of San Diego. I know me turning on the garbage disposal didn't cause all of TJ and San Diego to lose power...could it? We sat around in the dark...no phones, no computers, no nothing. Not to mention it's 100 degrees outside. I could see the 805 freeway from our office and slowly but surely I saw more and more and MORE cars get on the freeway. This would be disastrous knowing that everyone is at work, no power, and they would go home ALL at the same time. An hour later, I was told to leave and sat in traffic for a good 1 1/2 hours (not as bad as most ppl).
Traffic lights were out so surface streets were not better. I made it home and decided to go for a run/walk and saw our favorite mexican restaurant still open. It was great to see the community come out. Lots of other people were exercising and almost everyone was out on their patio with a cooler with beers and a bbq. How great! I went home where my sister met us and we drove to El Cuervo and at in the hot restaurant with lots of other people. Everyone was generous with tips that night as we appreciate them staying open.
We went home and where we found my dad and we sat in the living room and just talked to each other. That was a great feeling that we hadn't done in maybe forever? We went outside and the moon was almost full and we could see a lot of stars. My dad and I went for a walk and saw lots of people out.
I was curious going to sleep if we would get the electricity back tomorrow and if I would go to work if not. It was interesting tho my dog, Sophie, who sleeps with me was up ALL night. Not barking but just sitting on the edge of my bed looking out the window. I wonder if she had a sense something was not right and was protecting the family. Interesting, very interesting.
12 hours after the blackout the power turned on. They blamed a guy from Arizona who caused the huge blackout. Man must he feel bad today, FML status.
It was very exciting but also makes you aware if you are prepared for a disaster or not. We were prepared for a blackout but we need to be better prepared if a disaster strikes. Make sure you are safe and prepared as well!
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