I woke up at about 4:30 AM with the hope of getting to work at around 6:00 but was stymied by

I was happy to find out that the large branch on my car was not also in my car.  The network of side streets that comprises my commute was a no-go so I stuck to main roads at about 20 miles per hour and arrived around 7.  I thought nothing of fire engines on the road but found out they were from when the transformer that fed our building exploded leaving work with no power, which would very much complicate my printing.

Power returned around 7:30 but our print servers had reset so the first 20 copies were consumed into the ether.  I got rolling around 8 AM with very few in and one of them was a secretary that had some light copying to do.  My mission was clear, to make small talk until my printing was done.

Me: It looks like we’re the only ones who made it in, where did you drive in from?
Her: Oh, I’m somewhat local.
Me: Have you been in the area long?
*an hour later*
Her: And that’s how we got the second ferret.

By then the printing was done, and the strength of my bond to Scouting had been confirmed.