It was a disaster

On the coast and in the coast range, this storm was a disaster.  Whole towns are under water.  Major highways are impassible.  Rail lines submerged.  Lives were lost, futures are in question.

I learned a long time ago, if you can’t see the road, do not drive into the water, but some didn’t know that and will regret it, if they didn’t drown.  Some did, poor fools.

I feel so glad that here, in Portland, it isn’t so bad, and feel a small tinge of guilt, perhaps of survivor’s guilt, at being relatively unaffected by the storm.  The rain has finally quit, although today it poured down like there was no tomorrow at times.

***

I started my Mid-Day run today and it went fairly well.  There was some confusion and some mistakes made, but not by me.  Always a good feeling.  There were some questions regarding the scheduling of one of the runs I have to make, and I took it upon myself to speak to the secretary at the school in question (and what a fox she was too!  Meeeow!)  I got it sorted out myself.

We had no serious problems at the bus barn, but some of our buses sat in lakes, because fallen leaves clogged drains, and the wetlands behind the barn was water logged and the drains wouldn’t drain.

I totally feel that I earned my pay the last two days.

Yesterday, on my afternoon Elementary run, I asked the kids to be as quiet as they could so I could drive,  I couldn’t really see out the fogged windows so I devoted 95% of my attention to the driving, and the kids noticed…I looked up into the student mirror to see a blizzard of paper balls being thrown and caught one of the kids I’ve written up most in mid toss.  I pointed at him and said "I know your name and will be writing a referral for you", and meant it.  When I reached his stop, he came up to the front of the bus to get off with an armload of paper balls.  The kid had took it upon himself to pick up most of the paper thrown.

What else could I do but forgive him?  I didn’t write that referral and praised him in the company of his peers.  Gotta give ’em positive reenforcement, ya know.  I will try to bring him back from the dark side.

I now have nearly a full day of driving, and tomorrow, the late start day for the middle school, will be over a nine hour day.  I will see a big jump in my paychecks; since I am working nearly full time, the district will be paying almost all of my health care plan ($ in my pocket) and the extra hours will be good to have.

I had a big smile on my face ALL day, and ya know, such things get noticed.  I almost never bitch about anything at work, and that gets and has gotten noticed.  In their books, I am a "keeper". 

Good.  I want to be kept.

As many times as I go home wishing for a big drink or five, I almost never do that – I am pretty good about leaving that stuff in the bus, and ya know what?  It is almost never there the next morning.  I have grown and developed on this job in positive ways.

I’ve found a niche, and we like each other.

Today, on the Elementary run in the afternoon, I explicitly kept my eyes on the student mirror – and they knew it.  The behavior on my bus was almost 180 degrees different today.

The weather geeks say that we will see no rain for more than a week.  Creeks and rivers and ponds will subside.  For some, life will have to start over.  For the rest of us, we’ll dry out and go on.

Heh.  The Farmer’s Almanac says that January will be a tough month.  The squirrels are busily fattening up and hunting out nuts and stuff to store away for the bleak times.  Maybe that almanac will be correct  and maybe not.  Either way, for me, it’s onwards, regardless of what happens. 

Always. 

Onwards.

*****