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On Wednesday of last week I started seeing blank signs at the gas stations in the neighborhood where I work. The stations were out of gas, so they took down the amounts they would otherwise charge. By Friday, there were one or two stations still with gas, and with mile+ long gas lines. Fights broke out. Police and security services were called.

By Saturday, I wasn't sure if I'd have a chance to get more gas, so I walked around my neighborhood, and saw all three stations by my house were empty. I left my number at one of them to call when a tanker truck came by with more fuel. It was very strange out. There were very few cars on the road, and I could hear almost no highway traffic (which is usually pretty heavy since I live about a mile from I-40). The even stranger thing was that no one else was walking around. Or riding bikes. I only saw one guy on a bike and one couple out for a jog. Bizarre.

Sunday, my date cancelled for our afternoon first meeting at a coffee shop since he only had enough gas to get to and from work 3 days this week and was starting to think about sleeping at the office. While I was on the phone with him, my sister called to say that the station 2 blocks from me had gas and a short line. I made a run for it, and only waited about 5 minutes. As I filled up, things started getting hectic. An old woman started laying on her horn after she'd filled up to get a car out of her way. When he started moving, she kept up with the honking, and the station's attendant came out to tell her to stop. The line for gas was in the street at that point.

Apparently, my sister was out with my niece and mentioned to a guy that she was almost out of gas. He had her follow him to Costco, where he was a member, and let her fill up.

It's been surreal. I saw two stations with gas on the way to work this morning, and both had lines.