We’re going to work to monitor a big system rollover early one balmy Sunday morning. Victoria drives up to Capital Hill & picks up Karen & me. We stop at QFC & I buy a dozen donuts. We get back into the car & head for work. We park & head for the door of the big tall office building. For reasons that are no longer clear to me, I’m carrying a PC with my donuts. We approach the door & see sleep-deprived Yiran waiting for us inside, talking to the security guard. Rather than putting down the armload of hardware & donuts, finding my keycard, & pressing it against the keycard-device – I gesture to Yiran – indicating that he should hit the unlock button on his side of the door. He nods his head, reaches over, passes right by the button & pulls the fire alarm.
Less than five minutes later, a fire truck pulls up in front of the building. Two firefighters (reflective jackets, classic fireman hats, & suspenders) step inside, wipe the sleep out of their eyes, & find the five of us (Yiran, Victoria, Karen, the security guard, & me) eating donuts & listening to the fire alarm. No visible smoke, toxic spill, or cat in a tree. Yiran & the security guard apologize sheepishly. The security guard leads the firefighters to a back room, where they turn off the fire alarm. As the firefighters head back to the truck, I offer them donuts – but they decline.
The four of us bid the security guard farewell & head up to the 29th floor for the system changes.