original little hellraisers

updated the photos and videos today.

but, on to the real news…

so… that is over by my work’s new offices. we’re pretty much just off to the right of this photo. kara, owen and i went in today so i could organize my new office space. as we were driving there, you could see these enormous columns of smoke on the horizon. but let me give you some context. our new, swank offices are bordered by, and i’m not joking: a salt flat, a scrap yard and a refinery. evidently some real estate magnate decided that what a refinery, scrap yard and salt flat needed was a multi-multi million dollar business park. and it’s a nice place too:

 

 

we’re in the one labeled (c) on the second floor. pdi/dreamworks is over in (h), so we have some pretty swanky neighbors too — they’re the folks who made shrek.

anyway, back to the story.

at about 8am today a huge fire broke out at the scrapyard. as we drove in around 9:30 this morning, the firefighters were on the scene, but it was just one truck with one hose, spraying down the visible stack of destroyed cars. the smoke was unbelievably thick and arced over the street in a huge column. we did a quick tour of the building and then kara went to ikea for some stuff for our backyard (more on that later), leaving me at the office with owen, so i could, as mentioned, organize the space.

about an hour after kara left, one of my co-workers comes running through the building telling everyone that the police are evacuating the neighborhood. let me remind you, we moved in on monday. this is our inaugural weekend. oh, and cell coverage sucks.

as we get out to the front of the building, we find out that they are only letting people walk out of the area. no cars allowed in or out for twelve hours. so, i call kara repeatedly, who is no doubt looking at some cost effective office and backyard supplies at the big blue cube. i finally get ahold of her, give her the lowdown, and then put her in a state of panic — if she can’t get in, and i can’t (for whatever reason) get out, then i’ll have owen with not nearly enough food to last the day.

anyway, we start our trek - me holding owen and all of his trinkets and crap - to get to the police blockade. it’s about a half-mile or so, not terribly bad, but i am carrying a 20 pound sack of 9-month old and his gear. and if you haven’t noticed, i’m not the most fit or athletic person in the world. i make videogames for god’s sake.

when we finally all get to the blockade, this really nice cop helps us out, places me and owen in the back of his car and drives us to the front of the blockade. the cop is super, super, super cool (go redwood city police!) and turns on the lights and sirens for owen. owen doesn’t really notice, he’s off staring at the plumes of smoke. they are mesmerizing.

the cop proceeds to tell passers-by that the smoke is toxic. that would explain the green smoke. he tells me that the fire started at the bottom of the pile of discarded 70s cars. and that the fire department (go redwood city fire department!) has no real choice but to contain the fire and let it burn out, as they cannot really get to the source. hence the evacuation and the no ins-and-outs for 12 hours. oh, and i find out that if you ever drive over a fire hose, you go to jail. simple as that.

here’s where it gets really funny (at least to me, and let me remind you, i’m the only one who reads this blog anyway)… at the ‘front’ of the blockade there is all sorts of news folks running around with cameras and those plastic faced reporters with their perfect hair trying to get ‘the big scoop.’ if you missed the context of all of the above:

a junkyard is on fire.

it’s not as though they found atlantis here. or caught the night stalker. or broke the enron scandal. it’s a junkyard next to a refinery next to a salt flat next to a huge swanky business complex.

now, close your eyes and picture this:

a cop car rolls up to the middle of an intersection with his lights on and comes to a halt. the cop gets out of the car and trots over to the back door, opens it up and pulls a 9-month old baby (go owen!) out and helps me out of the car. from the outsider’s perspective, he looks like the day’s hero. he saved a baby from a burning junkyard! nevermind, what kind of jackass (me) would be hanging out with their kid (owen) at a junkyard on a saturday. we don’t credit the news for being the brightest.

so the vultures, er, reporters descend on me as the cop and i walk over to kara, who had just arrived. i tell the first onslaught that i need to find my wife and then give the reporter the ‘look’ that really says, ‘leave me alone.’ i get to kara who is now visibly relieved, thank the wonderful officer and then get ready to leave.

that’s when the second wave of reporters descends and starts asking me all these questions. i don’t think i’ll be on the local news, but they sure took their time taking advantage of the situation. the first reporter notices that other reporters are there and she comes running over. i was, quite literally, asked what the fire smelled like. i would imagine they could cover off on that, but hey, they got a camera on a baby, which makes for better tv than an unshaven slob (me). they asked me what i was doing at the junkyard. they asked me what the firefighters were doing. they asked me what it looked like. they had a camera, and presumably shot footage.

eventually they left us alone and we went back to the big blue cube and spent 300 bucks on stuff that is likely worth 10. but i had two hot-dogs and a pepsi for 2 bucks. big win.

my favorite part of this story: according to the cop, this happens every two months or so. i’ll report back next time it happens, but i promise no stupid questions, only a really long narrative of an event no one will care about tomorrow. but it was owen’s first (and hopefully last) time in the backseat of a cop car.

links to the ‘event’: here

(this entry written during built to spill’s you in reverse.)