J.P.

Work is chaotic today. Several co-workers were unable to get to work due to the flooding from the constant rain of the past 48 hours; rain that added to the already swollen rivers and creeks that were still quite impressive after Hurricane Irene.

I noticed that there were hardly any cars on the road this morning, especially when I drove through the small village of St. Johnsville. Turns out that I wasn’t suppose to be on the road in Montgomery County; all the roads have been closed and they are ticketing drivers if they are creating non-essential traffic. I guess I was lucky, the only other vehicle I encountered in Montgomery County was a horse and buggy. I don’t think the Amish drivers heard the news since they don’t have radio and all. The horse seemed happy.

They are now really cracking down on traffic on the roads today though, so I have no idea how I’m going to get home. The alternate back route that I usually take doesn’t pass through Montgomery County but the bridges over the West Canada Creek are closed due to flooding. I might have to make a scenic trip through the Adirondacks if I want a home-cooked meal tonight. Many others at work commute a similar distance, albeit from a different direction. They are planning their routes out as well.

When I was illegally passing through St. Johnsville this morning I noticed that the marina along the Barge (Erie) Canal had flooded so bad that the docks were no longer visible. Some boats looked to be floating over where the docks should be. The statue that stands next to the little lighthouse had water up to it’s neck.

Luckily the building I work in is in the foothills of the Adirondacks, so we are high up in the terrain. There is a reason I have always told Earl that I never want to live in the valley. I need to be up on top of hills so I can see what’s going on.

And so we don’t float away. Godspeed to those that are having much, much worse experiences with the floods today. I hope they are safe.

– I am crossing my fingers and praying to the digital mecca that this has been a successful instance of using BlogPress from my iPad

It has rained a lot since Tuesday. Our backyard continues to be flooded.

We have had some very impressive weather over the past couple of weeks: the remnants of a hurricane, an earthquake, a nearby tornado and of course lots and lots of rain. Many are telling us that this is a sign from God that He is not pleased. While I have a hard time believing that an all-loving, all-benevolent force would be so vengeful, I can see Mother Nature trying to nudge us a little bit to let us know that she’s not going to put up with our destructive ways much longer.

People tell me that this weather is just part of the cycle, the natural order of things. That’s all well and good and I can buy that, but sometimes I wonder if we are in the part of the cycle where we go from rinse to spin and the junk goes down the drain.

I have the luxury of working for a company that I believe in. Not everyone has that luxury these days, heck, there’s too many people that don’t have the luxury of working at all. Hopefully someone will figure out how to fix that little issue that’s plaguing our country. I hope it’s in my lifetime.

But, as a gainfully employed web developer, I have to say that I am rather proud of some of the philosophies of the company that I work for. I work for the largest rural telephone company in the United States. As a company that has grown leaps and bounds of the past 10 years through various acquisitions, the latest being a sizeable chunk of Verizon’s former landline business, Frontier Communications provides voice and data communications to many of the harder to reach places in the country. That in itself is kind of cool.

One of the driving forces of Frontier is community engagement. Our internal communications are packed with photographs, articles and the like of the company doing something, somewhere for the community. Blood drives, shelters, scholarship funds and the like are just the tip of the iceberg. Again, another cool thing.

When I walk into the main entrance at work, I can’t help but notice the latest poster on display. Frontier prides itself on being a 100% U.S.-based workforce. Everything is based in the country; we are as “Made In America” as telephone and internet service can be. If you call in with a trouble, you’ll speak to someone in the states. Our women named Peggy are really women and they don’t fake an American accent. I kind of like the idea of working for a company that is striving to keep it’s workforce U.S. based. In addition, and here’s the part that I really like, Frontier is going out of it’s way to hire men and women that have served in the Armed Forces. So many of our soldiers are coming home to find they have nothing, it’s good to work for a company that is striving to give them something.

Giving back and making a difference are big priorities when I’m looking for my next employment opportunity. I have to feel good about the work we do. I’ve been my position for over 18 months and I have to say, I’m still kind of diggin’ it for many, many reasons.

– I am crossing my fingers and praying to the digital mecca that this has been a successful instance of using BlogPress from my iPad

As I was pulling away from my daily stop at Dunkin’ Donuts and trying to get over to my coveted parking spot near the purple flowers, I noticed an armada of National Grid line crew trucks coming down the road. The line of trucks was quite impressive and one of the trucks had a big banner on it’s side “TEAM IRENE”.

The armada made it’s way into the shopping center parking lot where the purple flowers call home. As the trucks lined up along a couple of aisles of the parking lot, I moved to a different spot than normal.

At the very least, these men deserved to park wherever the heck they wanted to and I wasn’t going to block their way. As they got out of their trucks, congregated and made their way over to the adjacent Applebees, it was easy to tell that they had been working hard and seemed rather tired, but their mood was jovial and I didn’t overhear any complaints. They’ve been working hard since Irene blew through last weekend. They deserve a break.

And a thank you.

– I am crossing my fingers and praying to the digital mecca that this has been a successful instance of using BlogPress from my iPad