(no subject)

Apparently the blackout happened right around the moment I plugged in my new air conditioner. I hereby apologize to everyone for the screaming and the darkness and the crazy.

Actually I am shivering to think of the subway-entrapped and hope that they're brought to safety soon.

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My niece is currently nosing around the GBA's streets, trying to find my house; I fear she's gotten swept up in rush hour traffic, poor kid. But she does have prior experience driving around these parts, so I'm not too worried, and she's got a cell phone (which I already called once, since she forgot to call me before she left. These crazy, dashabout kids today, god love em. I was hoping to be able to advise her to stop at Jorgy's and hit Mapquest before she took off, though).

Apparently her reunion with dad and paternal grandparents went great; my mom spoke breathlessly about it during my entire commute home yesterday. Whole life stories were traded, and hers sounds like a bloody Disney movie, about a kid who is handed many misfortunes early on and must grow up fast and sacrifice much, but displays fortitude and bravery throughout, and is rewarded for it at the end. To hear my mom retell the story, anyway. It's pretty impressive. Looking forward to rehearing it tonight

Amazing things!

(no subject)

Seven hours since last contact (when I called her cell, and she was at the Exit 3 rest area in Maine, less than two hours to my north) and only one sign from her: an incoming call from her number that went away as soon as I hit the button to answer, about half an hour ago. All calls to her get a full-mailbox message. Not very steadifying.

I know nothing about cellular networks; might the power outage possibly cause disruptions in cell phone service between my 617-area phone and a phone with a Florida area code?

(no subject)

As it approaches midnight, I seriously wonder what I'm supposed to do now. I can't imagine going to sleep not knowing where she is. Calling family is not an option yet, because I do not want them going berzerk at this time.

So: I have a missing person, who was last pinged on I-95 between Maine and New Hampshire, and could be anywhere between there and the general blob of the Boston area.

My hopeful assumption is that her cell battery died and she hasn't had a chance to recharge it, and meanwhile kept all our phone numbers only on her phone. It's the "hasn't had a chance to recharge it" that defies credibility with every passing minute; it's been nearly nine hours now. Perhaps she left behind the power cable, and didn't consider high-tailing it back to Fairfield to be the best option? If I were in that situation, I suppose I'd strongly consider getting a hotel room where I was, rather than traveling retrograde for several hours. I can only hope that or something like that is the case. Argh.

What on earth do I do now? How long should I keep waiting? Who would I contact first? Any input would be really helpful. No responsibility like this has ever been handed to me before.

Update

I've been calling various MA PDs. Apparently it's SOP in this situation to call police departments who cover stretches of the route, and see if they've filed any traffic incidents of interest. That's... a lot of calls to make. Sigh.