Friday, dashing through the snow!

Well, they said it was gonna snow, and they were right! I hope the wind shifts, because the first thing I noticed was a big drift was building in front of my garage door.

Didn't even try to get onto the expressway (there's always some fool who thinks he can still safely drive 70 mph). I just took Plymouth Road. I don't think I ever got over 20 mph, since NONE of the roads were plowed. It did take exactly four times as long to get to work, though.

They said on the Channel Four weather it's coming down at a rate of one inch per hour and it's supposed to snow until at least noon, then start tapering off. So, we could see 6-10 inches today. I think we'll definitely have a white Christmas this year.

I decided that going home or out for lunch would be stupid, so I figured that my apple and cheese would be all I'd eat today. However, the Purchasing Department in this building has a nice tradition. Every Friday, on a rotating basis, one of them brings in a treat for all the rest (I think there's maybe eight of them here); bagels, donuts, fruits, etc. Well, this time it was Karen's turn (she's the administrative assistant and quite a Foodie) and she brought in a ham and spinach quiche and cheesy potatoes. There were enough people that didn't make it in that she came and asked me to please eat some, "...so it won't go to waste." So, I got brunch! And, I still had my apple and cheese for the afternoon snack.

I did go out at 11:30 AM and clean off the car. While I was out there, I checked the snow depth in a spot that wasn't drifted and it was seven inches deep. The weather channel said that we (Livonia/Redford) had officially gotten five inches today, so that makes sense if you add in the two inches we got on Tuesday.

They were just plowing the parking lot at that time. Unfortunately, the plow left a big mound of snow right behind all the cars!

It did seem to be tapering off when I cleaned off the car, but it came back with a vengeance just after 1:00 PM. So, I got my pants, socks and shoes wet for nothing. It finally stopped at 2:30 PM.

The department manager came around at 3:00 PM, wishing everyone who was going to be on vacation a Merry Christmas. She was on her way to a meeting and wouldn't be coming back. She mentioned to me she had told my boss that, due to the weather, some people could leave a little early but somebody had to stay until 5:00 PM, just in case.

So, after she left, I went and told my boss that I would volunteer to stay. My reasoning was that, since most people live much farther than me, the extra time off would mean a lot more to them. I, on the other hand, am going to be off for almost the next two weeks anyway (I do have to be back at work on Friday, January 2nd) and, the longer I stayed, the better the chances that the roads would be cleared. Everyone was gone by 5:00 PM, so I locked the door and turned off all the lights in my suite. Thank God, there were still other departments working so I didn't have to try and set the alarm (I have had some ugly experiences involving police in the past with setting or turning off the alarms).

Remember that mound of snow behind all the cars? When I got out to my car, I noticed somebody (I am guessing a shop guy) had taken a snow shovel and dug my car out! I looked down the row and saw that mine was the only car that got that treatment. So, I don't know who my guardian angel was, but thanks and God bless you!

My theory about the cleared roads was pure crap. Nothing was plowed, nothing was salted. I took 5-Mile home and stopped counting after 10 the cars that were stuck, either turning onto 5 Mile or turning off. People were shoveling them out and pushing them. I just went slowly (never got over 20 mph) and trudged along. My traction light kept coming on, but I did make it to San Jose. My first real problem was turning onto my street. I bogged down, but managed to keep it moving.

I didn't even try to get the mail in the car, seeing all the snow. I just turned into the pristine driveway. Halfway up it (and I don't have a very long driveway) the bottom of the car was plowing through that (much bigger now) drift I mentioned at 7:00 AM. Finally, the car got stuck. I backed it up a ways and drove forward. I got about 3/4's of the way through before getting stuck again. I opened the garage door, backed up almost to the road and powered it through the drift and into the garage.

I walked out to the mail box and noticed something odd. There were people tracks from the mail box to the start of my porch. So, I followed them. The postman had walked up to the porch (where the drift was the worst) and just threw a package at my front door! I retrieved it and, once inside, I opened it up. It contained both a Christmas and birthday present from my daughter Melissa. I sincerely hope neither was breakable, LOL! I set them in the living room to open on the appropriate days.

I was filling in the Blog when Caley hopped up on the desk. Stupid me, I reached out and petted her. Stupid cat, she turned around and bit me. Unlike Scruffy (or any other cat I ever remember), she does NOT like to be petted! So, I was bleeding as I typed this!

I printed off my vacation calendar and put it on the fridge. Now I know what I must accomplish every day. According to my timeline, I will celebrate Christmas with a shower in the renovated downstairs bathroom! Let it be, dear Lord... let it be!

It was after 7:30 when I got done, so I checked out quick options for dinner. I ended up opening a can of Hormel chili with beans and heating it up. I ate it with some of the too salty wheat crackers I confiscated from my Mom's. Note, they are definitely salty (and probably way too much for my Mom). But they taste great to me!

I started watching Surviorman on the Discovery Channel. [Mom, it's a show where a guy takes some cameras, goes alone into hostile and forbidding places and, well, tries to survive]. Tonight he was in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately I fell asleep before the end (Gee, I hope he survived!) When I woke back up, I turned everything off and went to bed.