Welcome To The Ice And Snow

It got cold really fast. Of course that meant that we had our first snow fall of the year. Of course my old school district messed that up and had school anyway, (smooth).We also have a high chance for ice tomorrow. Hibernation keeps sounding better and better this winter. Shame that suggestion won't fly at work.

It really wouldn't be so badif I didn't have to dig out my car every morning. It adds 20 minutes to my morning routine. I also have to be extra careful because even though I have experience driving in the snow, not everyone else does.

So how should someone out in the cold cruel world prepare for snowy days and chilly wind? Well if you can, work from home. Use up your weekend supply of hot chocolate and popcorn to keep yourself warm. It also helps to have a nice comfy blanket to huddle under while you work. 

If you have to go into the office and you live anywhere south of Philadelphea, don't go. It's not worth your life. Call in sick of you have to. Trust me, the roads will not be pretty.

If you choose to disregard my warnings (or you live in a state that is less likely to panic over a few flurries), plan to give yourself an extra hour of wiggle room. This is especially true if you live somewhere without a covered garage (though shoveling a driveway can take up to an hour). Digging out a car under a few inches of snow is a pain., anything more than six inches should be made into an Olympic sport.

Don't forget to dress warm and invest in good snow boots. I realized I needed a new pair when I put my foot into a snow pile and my toes took an ice bath. Also have a plastic bag for when the snow accidently falls on to your seat. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the cold. I wish I still lived somewhere with a fireplace, but until I do I'll just huddle under a blanket with a hot beverage and prey for an early spring. Hopefully the subzero temperatures don't stick around (unless you live in the Chicago region, I hear that's a nice balmy temperature for you guys).

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post, or it really pissed you off, please like, share or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys are staying warm.

Welcome To Electricity And Lack Thereof...

Another week and another blog. I watched Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog tonight. If you haven't seen it, you should. Love Neil Patrick Harris, he's amazing in it. It's also Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family. I think I've hit a new HP overload. However, I have realized that I tend to forget that to watch all of these things I need electricity.

Well guess what, on Wednesday I woke up to no electricity. Yep that's right. I had no heat (yeah sure the calendar says it's Spring, I'll believe it when the weather starts acting like it). I had no mans of cooking breakfast. I also had a very hard time moving around in the bathroom.

Luckily I had some food I didn't need a microwave or hot water maker for and was able to eat that. I managed to put on make via cell phone and flashlight light. These things were still harder to pull off without overhead lights, but I at least looked decent. The coffee situation, though, had to wait until I got to my office. Three cups of coffee later and I was finally awake enough to realize my situation could have been worse.

The first thing I did, after noticing that my bedside light wouldn't go on, was to call my maintenance people. I left a message and quickly called BGE. BGE (the electric and gas company near me) informed me they already knew about the situation and were working to fix it. The estimated time for power to return 9:30, well after I was planning on leaving for work. I also have probably mentioned this, but the maintenance guys kind of know who I am. So they were nice enough to give me a call (fairly soon after the BGE call) and told me it had been a blown transformer or transfuse box (something along those lines). I got a little chuckle with the blown transformer idea (well my car is called Silverstreak).

I got to work almost an hour earlier than usual and finally got my coffee. I am fairly certain I looked like a hot mess all day, but not many people were in. Still all of this made me reflect on how important electricity is in my life. It is so ingrained that I hardly think about turning on a light or making coffee. I know I'm a bit crazy about my electrical consumption (to the point I unplug all devices in my kitchen when I'm not using them), but not having the option to turn on a light is scary and annoying. I do have candles, but you got to be careful to light anything (or anyone) on fire.

However, given the choice, I would still take no electricity over no water. I can at least survive without electricity, but water is vital to life (not to mention hygiene). If I lost power for the long term, I would be annoyed, but could survive. If I lost water for an indefinite period, I would flip out. I know have a new appreciation for having clean water I can use. With everything in he news recently about contaminated water in PA and WV, I am thankful for every glass full.

If you liked this post (or it really pissed you off) please leave a comment or share with your friends, family and/or your worst enemy. I love hearing from my readers and hope you enjoyed this week's post. Until next week!

Welcome To The Cold

When will it be spring again?

So I survived the Polar Vortex. It was not what I would call fun or ideal. In fact I kind of wish it hasn’t happened at all. My ideal temperature is 60 degrees F. I can’t quiet remember what that is in C, so sorry my non American friends who are reading. I like the fall, not snow. Maybe Queen Elsa decided to grace us with her gift (Did a congressman suggest that she couldn’t cool things down in DC?).  Whatever the case it was cold and my heater started to malfunction. 

Yes that’s right, in the middle of the coldest cold spell to hit the United States in planet only knows how many years, my heater decides die. It was cold; I was unhappy and somewhat panicky. Not having heat wouldn’t have been too bad (I actually prefer it colder in my apartment to warmer), but my mom had to tell me what happens in the winter if pipes freeze. Apparently they burst and spread chaos and destruction. I did not want that to happen. I called maintenance and they fixed it all in the same day (mainly because I wined and started crocodile tears and mentioned that is was lower than 60 degrees F). When I got home my apartment was once again at my favorite settings. There was a note that said the capacitor had needed replacing. It was a good thing they fixed it. 

I know I wasn’t the only one with heat woes. Someone I know at first did not have hot water, and then a pipe burst at his place and turned his street into a solid sheet of ice. So things could have been worse for me. I am grateful everyday that my apartment is still standing. I also now know that pipes bursting in my area is a real threat and that I should be prepared for such things happening. This is why I brought insurance. 

I also found it amusing all the people who claimed that this cold spell proved that global warming is a lie. Honestly some people just have their heads buried in the sand. Global warming is real due to humans and naturally occurring cycles. Maybe if we have a super volcanic eruption within the next ten years we won’t have to worry anymore. Not that global cooling would be a good thing either. Ice ages tend to cause bad tempers (see the little ice age on the History Channel).

Thankfully the cold spell has dissipated and things have gotten (marginally) warmer. I saw Frozen this weekend. I give it two thumbs up. I really enjoyed it and thought the “true love” aspect was perfect. I won’t give it away (spoilers) because I am already really bad about giving things away in TV shows. I highly recommend going to see it or renting / buying it when it comes out on DVD. I really like the song “Let It Go”. The transformation of Queen Elsa is incredible. 

I hope everyone is able to stay warm this week. I will hopefully finally take down my Christmas decorations. Spring can’t come fast enough.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please comment and / or share it. I love hearing back from people and it is always nice to know other people’s opinions.  Until my next post!

Welcome To Winter

It's Not The Wonderland It Used To Be...

Today was the first time it snowed since I moved out and no long am a student. It was not as exciting as it used to be. When I was a little kid snow meant a day off from school and fun in the snow. I might build a snow fort out of the piles of snow made by the snow plows in my court or start a snow ball fight with my friends. In high school I had a day off to do more studying and get a head start on projects. In college, snow meant beautiful pictures, lazy days sleeping in and a higher chance of breaking something on the brick paths.

Snow now means checking to see if the roads are safe enough for me to get to work on. If they are I have to brave the highways with crazy Maryland drivers (I have finally realized the reason they are such bad drivers is because they have zero clue how to merge). If the roads aren’t safe enough to drive on (read been clear of ice), I get to work from home. This wouldn’t be so bad except I might end up with a huge cell phone bill from overages and I only have one screen instead of two to work on. I am not sure which idea is worse.

I actually can drive in the snow. I proved that today coming home from church. The first time I drove on the highway was in a blizzard driving from Michigan to Ohio. I distinctly recall my mother telling me to not be a baby and drive like I normally would. Since I had never driven on a highway I decided to get behind a truck and hope for the best. It was a wise decision because soon after I started out on the highway we hit white out conditions and they only thing keeping me in a straight line were the truck’s tail lights. I was finally able to give the driver’s seat back to my mother in Pennsylvania. It had been a very stressful two hours, but I learned how to drive in a blizzard.

Honestly the way people are acting you would think we had been hit with three feet of the white powder and all power had been knocked out. It thankfully hasn’t, but we live on the East Coast. We are far more likely to have a power outage because of a thunderstorm and that doesn’t seem to be a huge deal. Okay yes it would be really cold if we lost power because of snow, but that’s why you have plenty of blankets and jackets ready. I even made sure to have a few pairs of socks ready just for going outside.

Alright so maybe I’m making a horrible disaster waiting to happen sound trivial, but I have been in Michigan and Ohio in blizzard conditions. Parts of Texas and lower Midwest losing power do worry me a bit, but I checked the weather reports and it didn’t look like it would be that bad here. Heck one Christmas I had to shovel my Aunt’s driveway before opening presents while it was still snowing. I was unhappy, but we did get to go to my grandmother’s house.

So yes I am grateful that nothing too terrible happened during my first snow fall. I’m waiting to see what tomorrow looks like before I try going into work. I might just have to email my boss and say, well there’s ice everywhere I think I’m going to work from home, but that’s tomorrow. Winter might never be what it was when I was a child (let alone student). It won’t be magical and a break from the crazy school work, but I can still enjoy its beauty. Right now I’m going to curl up with some hot chocolate and Skype the Significant Other.

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