Chaos Again!

We all stood by our emails last night, to check the campus status for tomorrow. At 5:00 a.m., we were alerted that CSUN would be open for normal operation.

So it seemed fine this morning, but I couldn't help the eerie ominous feeling. Right after I switched from the 5 North to the 118 Freeway this morning, I saw flames licking the mountains to the right. It was a tremendous sight.

The smoke off the Reseda exit was stifling. Orange and brown covered my vision. Really, was it safe to go to school? I wanted to turn back, but I wanted my education. Seriously.

When I arrived to campus, the air was clear and I smelled no smoke. It seemed fine. But no one was at school today. I had about 10 students in my 9:30 class and the professor seemed reluctant to teach that day. She didn't. We just sat and workshopped stories.

Then Prof. Wexler's class, my 12:30, was cancelled. I actually bumped into him and it was a funny sight. The sight of a fleeing teacher and student, running away from chaos. The smoke came back. The fire had spread to Granada Hills and was in full force on campus. The wind wasn't helping. It picked up the smoke I had seen earlier that day and settled it right into the center of school. It was a terrible smoking dust storm.

I think it's an absolutely heinous for campus to be open today. It is so dangerous out there and the smoke is really debilitating. I really wished that they had just left campus closed today. It's a danger to the students' health and because dammit, I live far. I feel so cheated when I don't get to take my classes. It feels like a waste of my time and a waste gas.

On another note, let's continue to be vigilant and show our care and compassion for the evacuees and victims of the fires, which has now spread to Granada Hills. :(

Chaos in the City

Here's another good dystopic observation. Campus was closed today, due to the fires in Porter Ranch. I am wishing for everyone's safety out there, by the way!

Well I noticed that there was something eerie in the air, and I don't mean the smoke and ash floating around. Everyone had a solemn look, and walked like zombies. Weather-beaten and exhausted, it was just another manic Monday, right?

I noticed things were extra fishy when my broccoli cheese soup from Subway just didn't taste right. Then there seemed to be plenty of parking in the parking structures. This was very odd behavior, indeed!

Then hallways were empty. At 1:45, the hallways of Jerome Richfield are never empty.

I went to my professor's office and she said that the entire campus was closed. No classes today.

No classes?! You mean I drove all that way, worked my ass off this whole weekend to get everything done by Monday, and...classes are cancelled?

So I fled! I fled campus and people were driving worse than normal. Intersections were blocked. Ambulances and fire trucks blasted through the lanes, weaving in and out of the way. I got on the freeway. And here was something that I had never seen before.

Traffic was backed up horribly on the 118 West. I literally saw cars pull over to the right and drive in reverse to the next exit, Balboa Blvd. It was like synchronized driving; all the cars in one line at the same speed backing up to Balboa Blvd. It was surely a sight to see!

This was chaos. This was dystopia in action. This is what happens to people in these bizarre moments that throw off your day. It's lunacy, I say. Sheer lunacy!