MetaChat - I'm stuck at work! Hope me!

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27 November 2006

I'm stuck at work! Hope me! The ramp from the garage in my building is frozen, and there's no way my car will be able to get up. Temperature is 30F and falling, so no chance it will thaw before tomorrow. I'll just have to start a new life in my office. I'll have to sleep in office chairs and eat vending machine food.

post by: qvantamon at: 22:31 | 21 comments

Hrm.

We can find a way out of this.

Is there a store nearby where you can buy 40 pounds of cat litter? Or rock salt?

posted by mudpuppie 27 November | 22:33

I was thinking of using a bucket and my building's infinite supply of hot water.

Or maybe making a snowchain out of ethernet cables for my car.

posted by qvantamon 27 November | 22:36

Damn, that sounds like a real bitch. I don't guess you could just walk home?

posted by court siem 27 November | 22:38

Paper clips, qvantamon. Paper clips. The big ones.

posted by mudpuppie 27 November | 22:38

Wait, wait, I got it. Call the police. Tell them you are stuck and need help. When they drive over the top of the frozen ramp, the police car will slide down the ramp, coming to a rest at the bottom. They should have enough fresh coffee and donuts to last until the ice melts tommorrow morning. Good luck.

posted by r. mutt 27 November | 22:41

That happened to me last winter. After the security guys laughed at me for a while, and then poured a bunch of rock salt all over the place, I called AAA. Then, while I was waiting for the AAA guy to arrive, one of the maintenance guys used his big 4x4 truck, and the winch on the front of it, to pull my car up the ramp. Okay, so that story wasn't really very helpful.

posted by box 27 November | 22:42

You should just call a tow-truck and see if they can help.

Or make a loincloth out of paper towels from the bathroom, give your self tribal war paint with a sharpie, and scare the living shit out of the custodial crew.

posted by cmonkey 27 November | 23:00

A work sleepover! With the right coworkers and maybe some booze, it could be fun.

(Disclaimer: I loved my job and coworkers and miss working a lot.)

posted by jrossi4r 27 November | 23:04

Can you not call the cops? Or a cab and walk out, remember make your feet like a herring bone...

If not just go feral like Cmonkey says, root through desks, pee in the plastic plants, build a crossbow with office equipment, just cut loose, tell 'em you couldn't take the pressure.

(seriously if you are stuck and need out bad call the police)

posted by Divine_Wino 27 November | 23:16

Yet another reason to move away from winter. Of course, people become drooling idiots when it rains out here.

Doesn't your office have a company snowmobile for situations like this?

But I also second the paper towel loin cloth, sharpie war paint and scaring the sin out of the cleaning crew. As long as you get pictures of it happening.

posted by fenriq 27 November | 23:20

Ugh, it's stuff like this that makes me really hate garages.

There's nooobody else around?

posted by moonshine 27 November | 23:29

ummm, can you call someone you really like but haven't told them and ask to be picked up and taken in tonite? No? It's inappropriate, you think? Well, ok, just a (half drunken) thought...

posted by carmina 27 November | 23:37

Whoa, I just realized this post is an hour old. I hope you got out! Sincerely, useless to you, me.

posted by moonshine 27 November | 23:37

Yeah, I got out. My car's still in the garage though. Got a ride from a friend whose building doesn't have outdoor garage ramps. Nice skiddy ride back home, at 10mph over the ice. Then we walked to the pub nearby, got drunk, and came back home walking in what weather.com says was "26F, feels like 17F". Yes, my chest was somewhat hurting for the last half of that walk.

Right now I'm very inclined to just telecommute tomorrow. Would be easier if I hadn't left the books I'm supposed to read at the office.

posted by qvantamon 28 November | 04:10

You should've left ransom notes back at the office:

Weee haf yor q-mon. Sendd one meelion dollarssa nd nobuddy gits hrt.

posted by chewatadistance 28 November | 10:21

Where the heck do you live? It was 60°F in Massa-freakin-chussetts yesterday. In fact, I was too hot on my motorcycle riding to my girlfriend's.

I guess the title of coldest MeChazen is no longer mine. The place I lived last year had snow already, a few weeks ago.

posted by Eideteker 28 November | 10:30

We've got one more day of 50s and rain here in Wisconsin. On Thursday we get 20s and sleet. On Wisconsin, I guess.

posted by stilicho 28 November | 11:51

We have ice on the inside of our double paned windows. I'm guessing they need to be resealed.

posted by deborah 28 November | 13:11

Oh, and I'm glad you got home, qvantamon.

posted by deborah 28 November | 13:12

Once when I lived in Detroit, I had to work late. It was -20°F when I got out and as far as I could tell, I was the last guy in the office.

I went out to my car and it barely started. I got over to the gate, and when I stopped the car to wait for it to open, the car stalled. This time, it didn't start again. So I went back to the office only to find out my badge didn't work after 8:00 pm. This was in the days before cell phones.

It was gonna be a cold night!

I went back to the car, and it *barely* started again. I went to the gate and just kind of coasted through it, coasted through all the stop signs, made it to the freeway and finally the car warmed up. I made it home.

Barely.

posted by Doohickie 28 November | 13:17

I just paid $900 to get the airconditioning in our car fixed so we don't have to drive around pouring sweat out all over the place any more.

I guess that doesn't help, either, huh?

posted by dg 28 November | 22:42

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