Ohgawd A WEATHER Post...
...Yeah, well, I'll try to keep the weather itself to a minimum and concentrate instead on how the blizzard has affected me.
I'm spending the night in the hospital as a PATHOLOGIST dammit!
That's how the weather has affected me.
Getting TO the hospital this morning wasn't so bad but getting home FROM the hospital was another matter entirely. As in "not happening."
At about two-thirty this afternoon the announcement went out that the roads were becoming even more unsafe so anyone who was going to attempt to make a break for it should try.
Struggled down to the parking lot only to discover that my van was a white drift sitting in the middle of THIGH-high snow. You'd think that would be enough to turn me away but no...there was a shovel sticking out of a snowdrift nearby so I thought "well, if I can shovel the van out then I can probably get home since they are plowing the lot even as I stand here."
Waded through more mid-thigh snow to get to the shovel, waded back to the van and started trying to dig out...when I realized the hard way that my Aleve had worn off and that I was shoveling even more snow than I had at 6:30 this morning. Also that it was coming down hard and fast onto my shoulders. Really hard and really fast--faster than I've ever seen snow fall before.
Still, stubborn is about three of my problems so I kept at it--till my cellphone started ringing in my pocket. Turned out to be HBF telling me "don't even bother. There ISN'T an Our Road any more." He then went on to say "remember the split-rail fence out front? Gone. The mailbox? Gone. You're staying at The Hospital tonight, dear! Go back in and call me from your office."
Yeah, well, I kinda knew that all along but at least wanted to try to sleep in my own bed tonight. Once I had taken a break to answer my cellphone and started looking around I realized how completely ridiculous it would have been for me to try to drive anywhere in a front-wheel-drive Big Green Box anyhow and felt more than a little foolish for just not trusting my gut and sticking with my original "forget it--stay put!" plan.
Four-wheel drive vehicles were spinning their wheels as I hiked back up the hill and I managed to work up a sweat just walking through the plowed areas which still had a good four inches of snow since it was (and still is) coming down so fast that the plows can't keep up. Which explains why one hadn't been down Our Road since early in the morning.
So here I am, back at my desk hanging out till it's time to pick up a cot, bedding, linen and toiletries. Learned they are no longer plowing any of the local streets which makes sense---it must be all the plows can do just to keep up with the major thoroughfares, one of which Our Road clearly isn't.
Fortunately I've got not just one but two good books and some knitting. I also have a pair of scrubs and a floppy T-shirt here at the office and can always sneak off to the morgue shower late tonight or in the morning. I'm now thinking I'll wait till daylight tomorrow and re-assess the car situation with plans to dig out and go home as soon as feasible since staying all day tomorrow also is a bit much.
But...I'm way too old for in-house call!
Oh and here's a picture Eldest sent me from about four this afternoon taken through one of our kitchen windows--that's our back deck and the railing is the usual waist-high-on-a-tall-person height.
I'm spending the night in the hospital as a PATHOLOGIST dammit!
That's how the weather has affected me.
Getting TO the hospital this morning wasn't so bad but getting home FROM the hospital was another matter entirely. As in "not happening."
At about two-thirty this afternoon the announcement went out that the roads were becoming even more unsafe so anyone who was going to attempt to make a break for it should try.
Struggled down to the parking lot only to discover that my van was a white drift sitting in the middle of THIGH-high snow. You'd think that would be enough to turn me away but no...there was a shovel sticking out of a snowdrift nearby so I thought "well, if I can shovel the van out then I can probably get home since they are plowing the lot even as I stand here."
Waded through more mid-thigh snow to get to the shovel, waded back to the van and started trying to dig out...when I realized the hard way that my Aleve had worn off and that I was shoveling even more snow than I had at 6:30 this morning. Also that it was coming down hard and fast onto my shoulders. Really hard and really fast--faster than I've ever seen snow fall before.
Still, stubborn is about three of my problems so I kept at it--till my cellphone started ringing in my pocket. Turned out to be HBF telling me "don't even bother. There ISN'T an Our Road any more." He then went on to say "remember the split-rail fence out front? Gone. The mailbox? Gone. You're staying at The Hospital tonight, dear! Go back in and call me from your office."
Yeah, well, I kinda knew that all along but at least wanted to try to sleep in my own bed tonight. Once I had taken a break to answer my cellphone and started looking around I realized how completely ridiculous it would have been for me to try to drive anywhere in a front-wheel-drive Big Green Box anyhow and felt more than a little foolish for just not trusting my gut and sticking with my original "forget it--stay put!" plan.
Four-wheel drive vehicles were spinning their wheels as I hiked back up the hill and I managed to work up a sweat just walking through the plowed areas which still had a good four inches of snow since it was (and still is) coming down so fast that the plows can't keep up. Which explains why one hadn't been down Our Road since early in the morning.
So here I am, back at my desk hanging out till it's time to pick up a cot, bedding, linen and toiletries. Learned they are no longer plowing any of the local streets which makes sense---it must be all the plows can do just to keep up with the major thoroughfares, one of which Our Road clearly isn't.
Fortunately I've got not just one but two good books and some knitting. I also have a pair of scrubs and a floppy T-shirt here at the office and can always sneak off to the morgue shower late tonight or in the morning. I'm now thinking I'll wait till daylight tomorrow and re-assess the car situation with plans to dig out and go home as soon as feasible since staying all day tomorrow also is a bit much.
But...I'm way too old for in-house call!
Oh and here's a picture Eldest sent me from about four this afternoon taken through one of our kitchen windows--that's our back deck and the railing is the usual waist-high-on-a-tall-person height.
posted by SamD | 5:29 PM
3 Comments:
wow! it's kind of like a reverse snow day. :)
it's good, though, that you have books and the net and you work at a place with cots and toiletries. alas, those working at offices and mcdonald's might be bedding down in some mighty uncomfy scenarios.
Well yes, all things considered I really oughtn't to complain at all--as HBF said, I was in the safest place in the county. One would hope that camraderie (and youth) would help those stuck in less fortunate places.
What amazes me the most is how quickly the region has bounced back. The snow stopped around one and by noon things were pretty much business as usual.
Post Scriptum:
Welcome Wen!
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