It's windy sideways!

Man is it windy out there! Starting yesterday afternoon, the San Francisco Bay Area has been experiencing an epic wind storm, with gusts well above 50 MPH. On campus, a giant tree toppled onto a building. When walking outside I literally had to hold onto my hat, head down so that debris doesn’t get into the eyes. More of the same today, with addition of rain and very cold temperatures. Bundle up and lotion up!

As a car enthusiast, the one thing I worry about during these windy weather patterns is my street-parked car. I’ve an irrational fear of a rouge trashcan getting blown by the wind right into my BMW M2. Good thing trash day was the day before yesterday’s wind storm. And good thing I actually moved my car into my work’s covered parking structure. Ah, the privilege of living so close to work: I can utilize its facilities to the full potential. The reason I don’t park the M2 there all the time is I like to look at it parked out front of the house through my window.

That’s the one downside about tree-lined streets: during wind and rain storms the plants can turn deadly. To things and humans. On the walk home yesterday through the wind I purposely avoided walking under trees. Can’t risk a branch falling off and ending it all right there. That stuff can happen during the best of times: I remember the woman who died from a fallen tree branch at Golden Gate Park. Horrible way to die, and who can you blame but the act of god?

I think it’s important to be alert and aware of the surroundings whenever you’re outside, no matter how adverse or not the weather is. Get your head out of the smartphone and look around instead. There’s lots of AAPI hate these days: walk around unawares and a Infiniti G37 sedan might pull up unnoticed and rob you. Got to be careful out there!

It's raining sideways!

Last night was the first time in a few nights I slept through the entire time. Northern California has been experiencing continuous deluge of rain and wind since the end of December. 50 miles-an-hour winds and heavy rain (and hail!) keep waking me up from slumber. These are heavy storms through and through, and it’s not over yet: the forecast says we won’t see the end of it until the 20th. As of typing we are expecting another full day of rain and crazy winds. Floor advisory in effect for the afternoon hours.

I was lucky yesterday to have smarty moved my BMW M2 to my work’s covered parking garage. One of the perks of living so close to work is I can use the garage whenever I need to stash the car for relatively long term. Either when I go on vacation, or when I need to put the BMW away from harmful weather. For about $25 of my pre-tax dollars every month, it’s a convenience worth paying for, even though 95 percent of the time I don’t park any car at work.

Shoutout to the coworkers who have to navigate fell trees and blocked roads to get to work. At least they are dry and warm in their sealed vehicles. I have to walk the half mile to work in the elements. Thankfully the storm have held up thus far during my commute hours, though I’m definitely prepared to go to a full poncho setup. An umbrella with these winds would just be utterly useless.

Another thing to worry about during times of heavy rain is leaks and flooding to the home. We’ve been fortunately in that regard, though I’ve heard too many anecdotes about roofs needing repair. My supervisor’s garage got flooded, a nasty confluence of geography. His house is situated on a plot where water naturally accumulates when there’s lots of rain within a short period time. No prevention - the only thing to do is pump the water out.

Stay dry and safe, everyone. More to come, unfortunately.

Batten down the hatches

It’s funny how events repeat themselves. This time last year we were precautiously sent home from campus due to the raging omicron COVID variant. In 2023, we’ve also been sent home during the first week of January, but for a different reason. During New Years Eve, the San Francisco Bay Area experienced heavy rainfall, leading to multiple cases of flooding. Well, today marks the beginning of another round of storms. With the ground already saturated from the rain four days ago, the results are not going to be pretty.

Obviously it’s plenty safe to actually be on campus. It’s getting there and back that’s the problem. The commute today is going to suck really bad, so best for those with a long commute to stay home (my guy with a ferry ride across the bay is happy to not have to do that). San Francisco State is not the only campus to ask staff to work-from-home if possible the next few days. I’ve got friends at other universities in the area with the same directive. If you have the privilege to stay home, do so.

The real MVP during these times of severe weather are the folks who have to be outside. Shoutout to the mail carriers and package couriers still striving to get packages to us. Shoutout to the food delivery drivers getting food to us from restaurants. Shoutout to the first responders clearing road hazards and making sure things are as safe as possible. Modern society would not be possible without these heroes. The rest of us who Zoom’ed our way through the pandemic should count our lucky stars.

That said, I’m going to be watching the mayhem from the comfort of my room window this entire day. And praying nothing foul lands on and damages my car. 40 miles-an-hour winds are no joke!

Sleeping through a typhoon

It’s the middle of January, and there’s wind gusts in San Francisco at more than 50 miles-an-hour. What a time to be alive. Climate change is real and tangible, whether or not your politics agrees with it. To have such harrowing wildfire conditions in the dead of winter is highly unprecedented. I’m glad (as of this writing) there aren’t any fires that have sprouted out due to this dry and windy conditions. The rain that we did get in December likely helped.

I am glad I moved my car to the covered garage of my work before the winds came. The immense amount of tress and shrubs where I live (gorgeous things on a nice and sunny day) likely means plenty of debris getting blown onto the car. Given these circumstances, and the prevalence of windy conditions going forward, I’m not giving up the parking permit at work anytime soon. Not that I’m precious with the M2, but I do want to preserve the paint as best as I can.

I shudder to think what it would have been like if the BMW was still parked outside in the elements.

Trying to sleep continously through the wind gusts was impossible. The ghoulish howl, the crashing tree branches, and the loud protest from anything that isn’t securely fixed, meant awaking multiple times throughout the night. It’s like sleeping through a typhoon, except there is no rain. Recency bias aside, I don’t think there’s ever been this bad of a wind event that didn’t involve rain. I should have slept with earplugs on.

At least I don’t have to commute to work. Imagine all the debris and crap littering the streets right now, not to mention out of service traffic lights. Safelite should be expecting a quite a few busted windshields, and insurance is going to be paying off a few more accidents than normal. This reminds me some years ago when it was also a spectacularly windy day: an entire tree collapsed onto a parked car. Thank god it wasn’t a moving one! This is why I avoid parking under trees as much as possible.

It’s nearly 7 AM now. I hope the rest of today goes great for you all.

Healy Chen

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It's windy sideways!

It's raining sideways!

Batten down the hatches

Sleeping through a typhoon