Hair-raising and incredibly close...: ranma9037

Three weeks ago today,a raging inferno consumed two storefronts next door to work and disrupted the store's operations for parts of two days.On the day it happened,I was in the final half-hour of my shift when I overheard talk of a burning smell and/or a fire next door from multiple co-workers.Sure enough,an evacuation order was used minutes later;and just upon exiting the main store entrance(I was behind the checkstands on standby awaiting more customers)and making my way to the parking lot perimeter(along the street),I could see the developing plume of smoke not only coming out of the rear of the building next door but also completely darkening the windows of the Tuesday Morning next door.Eventually the first responding crews evacuated everyone further to the parking lot of the center across the street as the smoke thickened due to the flames exploiting the lack of sprinklers in the nearly 40-year old building(subdivided between a Tuesday Morning and a beauty academy but was historically a 'big-and-tall' clothing store)attached to the only 12-year-old Rite Aid;and once I began making my way out of the area 40-minutes later to an alternate location blocks away to meet my ride,not only was power cut off to my store,but I could also see flames that had blown out the Tuesday Morning side.Traffic was so snarled in the area(due to some consequential street closures)that the first news truck had just made it to a nearby parking area(some streets were clogged for miles)as I was desperately rushing away from the mayhem;and other news trucks were still struggling in traffic after my ride found me.I wasn't scheduled again for a few more days,but the store held up well as thanks to the fire wall/buffer space.It turns out to be a tale of two fire-code eras as the 'Big and Tall' building was built over a decade before sprinklers were required in buildings of that size(though they were required in larger anchor buildings).I had shopped at the Tuesday Morning a number of times over the years and tried not to think about the lack of sprinklers,until that fateful day...

Well,I can safely say that the smaller of my 2 Zen Vision W's has basically lost it:Frequently when I used it,it abruptly shuts off and goes into 'library rebuild' mode whenever I would turn it back on.Not once,but repeatedly;and it's happened each of the last two times I've taken it with me for errands.Now I'm down to just one working player.In fact,other things have been breaking down on me lately:My headphone radio keeps blitzing out,my mouse has started oozing substance,the DS screen has started getting glitchy,and even my battery toothbrush(both batteries and brush head are replaceable)has been erratic lately(motor sputtering inconsistent even with battery depletage).Now,I'm feeling a bit rickety myself...

On the flip side of things,it's nice to see that the Teabaggers/Neo-Cons get rebuked in states that had elections earlier in the month...

As far as I'm 'koncerned'(sic),the Kardashians are overrated as a whole...

Happy birthday to both Susumu Akagi(who turns 39)and Tsukiko Toba(who turns 25)...

Hair-raising and incredibly close...

This LJ only dies when LJ does,for future reference...

Fear and loathing in the People's Republic of America,part deux

Fear and loathing in the People's Republic of America,part 1 of ∞

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