Thursday, February 18, 2010

news use you can use #10: how i narrowly escaped death

so as some of you know, i am away at a conference in austin, tx which is why you haven't heard from me today.  i know, sad story.  what's even sadder is THIS.  please tell me you watch the news, read the newspaper, or something.  just in case you are too lazy to click on the link which i so un-lazily hyperlinked for you, i will tell you what is particularly newsworthy in my life today - i could have died.

look, i know.  you're scared and you're wondering if i'm okay.  cathy (aka - antsy pants) was worried as shit about me and sent me an email to confirm whether i was alive or dead.  true friend, that cath is.  and the answer to that question is yes, i am okay.  barely, though.

here's the deets on what went down: a software engineering guy peeved at the IRS (who isn't peeved at the IRS?) decided he was so mad he'd set fire to his own house then fly his plane into an office building that houses federal tax employees.  oh, and i should mention this happened in AUSTIN, TX this morning.  the same AUSTIN, TX i'm in RIGHT NOW.  now you're scared, right?  to scare you even more and to make you thankful that i'm alive, here are some pics documenting my whole near death experience.*





* just for good measure and to make sure i don't sound insensitive or seem like i'm making light of this awful event, no one died in this event.  well, the man who flew the plane into the building who also burnt down his house died, but (to my knowledge, which can be sketchy sometimes) there were injuries, but no deaths, thank goodness.

34 comments:

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

I was just getting ready to email you - Do I get any points for that - then I see this blog post. As soon as they said TX I was like WAIT M, TEXAS OH CRAP! I'm glad you're OK! I'm heading to read the link now!

Lindsey said...

OH MY GOSH! I'm glad you're okay!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad he's the only one that died. What a selfish asshole!

PS - I'm so glad you're alive.

d.a.r. said...

So glad you are okay!! He sounds like he was a total whacko!

Karls said...

Man! That's heavy! I heard something about it on the news just now, on the way back from the gym... so it's made it all the way to Australia.

So glad you are fine!

Anonymous said...

Thank God you're okay hun! :)

Cathy said...

Fuck yeah I was worried! So glad you are ok. Those pics are scary:(

bananas. said...

I saw this first thing in the am and i couldn't believe it. What an idiot. So glad you're alive and no one but the pilot died. Thank gawd.

The Batcave said...

I live here! In austin I mean. Crazy shit I tell you. In real life... love getting the "are you ok" phone calls and texts. Makes you feel all loved and stuff.

{andthisiswhatshesaid} said...

Wow. crazy.. Thankfully your ok!

SurferWife said...

I will be sure to let your counterpart know that you are alive and kicking. She should be relieved. You know how fast this kind of news spreads around the preschool circuit. Haley Gaga must be a basket case of worry right now.

The Only Girl said...

Glad you're okay! We heard all about it up here too.

Meagan said...

I didn't know you were in Austin or I totally would have tried to get in touch with you. I heard and was sitting here making sure everyone was ok. Glad you are ok!

Ams said...

Thank goodness you are okay!
I can't believe this idiot.... so absolutely selfish :(

Stacy said...

Wait, were you in the building or something? My boyfriend works right near there so I kept calling him to see if he knew any more than Fox News did (which I'm forced to watch at work).

Existential Waitress said...

Yeah, that's hella scary! I'm glad that you're okay! something like that happened here when I was a kid, and in all the confusion, no one knows what's happening - it's very scary!

Bathwater said...

For a minute I thought YOU worked for the IRS now that would be scary!

Salt said...

I was watching this on the news earlier and thinking...jeez that guy was the planet's biggest jerkoff. It's like a miracle that no one else was hurt in this whole thing. Glad you're ok, lady!!

Tricia said...

Crazy stuff.

My whole fam lives in Austin. Luckily none of them were anywhere near that...other than my brother-in-law getting stuck in massive traffic on the way to a meeting.

PS. Glad you didn't squished by a plane.

jessalyn said...

cah-razy!
i am very glad you are ok. i had my nose so far buried in bank statements i barely caught wind of this story before you mentioned it.
get home safe lady!
xo

MCW said...

I can't believe that douche flew his plane into the building. Glad you are ok!

Perpetual Prep said...

Crazy hizzle!!! I listened to the entire thing on NPR (I'm a dork, I know) and I couldn't believe it! Be safe on our travels home :)

Unknown said...

So thankful you are safe - people are CA-RAZY!

Dee said...

I'm glad that you're ok!!

Kristen said...

Heard about this on the news... I just finished filing my taxes, which were a nightmare this year... and I'm not to thrilled with the IRS either... but who does this?!?! I'm just so glad nobody (but the crazy guy) was hurt... and even more glad you're safe and sound!!

Perfectly Jenn said...

I'm sorry I'm about to be the "debbie downer" here but I think this post is extremely insensitive. So here's a little factoid: there are close to 2 million people in Austin (not including the surrounding cities) and just because you were at a conference in Austin doesn't mean that you were anywhere near this tragic occurrence. Also to update you, there has been one confirmed death (a federal employee) and another person received 2nd degree burns covering his back.

I know you were trying to make this into a light-hearted/funny post but to me it just hits a little close to home, literally.

Summer said...

Praise JESUS!!! You're alive!!!!

I would die if you died. Seriously. I'd be dead now. =)

ScoMan said...

I read about that guy.

I guess it's a way to send a message without killing anyone.. except himself.. which is a good thing, but I'm not really sure what his message was.

There were traces of his blog post on a news site before the American government had the post deleted.. and yeah, I'm not sure what exactly he was upset about.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're safe and well.

Vic said...

I didn't know you were in town. I live in Austin. This sucks.

Beautiful but bitter. said...

So tragic. How far were you from the devastation? I mean, were you close enough that you narrowly escaped death? Did you feel the impact? Or did you have no clue as to what was happening until you saw it on TV...? (And no, I'm not trying to be rude. I'm just trying to get a better understanding of your scenario).

foxy said...

Yep, I live in Austin, so I heard about the thing as soon as it happened. And actually, two people died - the pilot and an IRS guy. Super sad, but really, it could've been SO MUCH WORSE. Thank God it wasn't.

You know, my own mom didn't even call me to make sure I was okay. WTF?? When I called HER on my way home yesterday, she was all "well, I knew you didn't work northwest, so I was sure you were okay." And yes, I hardly travel that far north, BUT STILL, she didn't even call????

Unknown said...

The whole thing was freaky, but I'm glad only 2 people died...it could've been much, much worse.

Don't worry about Debbie DOwner. I think we all knew what you were getting at and you weren't being insensitive.

Shandal said...

People are so crazy! "I'm having such a bad day, I think I'll just fly into a building." Sad/Crazy people.

TLF said...

Were you in the building?
(Did I miss that in the post?)

If so, How lucky are you? (& everyone else!)
Such a tragic event!