Yes, I had a bad Friday. At 10AM, I had to get on a problem call with a certain Bank that will remain nameless. 2 hours later, I had proven that it wasn't the firewall. 5 hours after that, after solving the problem for the people whose problem it was, I got to get off the phone. Meanwhile, during this call, a major storm with several nearby tornadoes had been raging.
I was only 2 blocks from work when I felt the car lifted off the road by the torrent of water. The car and I were carried sideways into a ditch that was now several feet deep with water. I quickly turned off the engine, but forgot to turn off the lights. As the floor started to fill will brown, brackish water, I rolled down the window and climbed onto the roof. The driver of one of the two cars that had stopped by this point pantomimed that he had already called the police. (Although what the police can do at this point is debatable. The Coast Guard might have been a better call.) It was at this point, sitting in the heavy rain on the roof of my car in water up to the windows, that I began to inventory the contents of the car in my head. I decided that I wanted my gym bag and climbed back in and retrieved it and then resumed my position on the roof. Looking at the expanse of water surrounding the car, I determined that I was incapable of jumping to safety. I was going to have to wade to shore. Now, being Pete and not wanting to ruin my pants, I got a pair of shorts out of the gym bag and, sitting in the rain on top of the roof of a car that was quickly being taken by the water, I changed out of my pants and into my shorts. I put my pants into the gym bag and threw it to shore. I then waded to shore though chest high water.
My friend Lance was able to quickly determine that the phone call asking for his assistance had nothing to do with a computer problem. However, his initial thoughts were that I had stalled in a foot of water or so and was overreacting. Upon reaching the scene he quickly revised his opinion. It was at this point that we left the car to regroup and plan. We returned about 2 hours later with reinforcements, a bigger truck, a chain, and a wetsuit. After some effort, I was able to get the chain hooked to the car and we were able to pull it free. The car now sits in a back parking lot, waiting for the insurance man to visit.
