Snow, To Do’s, and Books

This morning [insert word appropriate for polite company that means “sucked” here]. We got our predicted four to five inches of powdery snow overnight. It was the kind of wispy stuff that you shovel with a broom. The problem is, as fast as you swept it away, the winds blew more in. In fact, it continues to get windier, and I anticipate problems getting home.

I got up on time, and actually left the apartment fifteen minutes earlier than is my usual MO. All went well until I actually tried to exit from the complex onto the busy four-lane highway. The last twenty feet of exit leading to the road is on a steep incline. Ordinarily this just means that I need to be a little more alert in “weather”. This morning that little ripple might just have been a brick wall. The little Prius simply couldn’t make it up.

I waited for about three quarters of an hour, and then tried again. This time there was a massive back up of cars, and the cars in the lead were stuck at the exit. I U-turned and once again went back to the apartment. The third time I tried was only shortly after that, and this time all I did was get far enough to see that there was no difference at the exit. Some cars had given up trying to get out the exit and were resorting to using the entrance lane to leave the complex. THAT had all the makings of total catastrophe, and so I returned yet again to the apartment.

Finally, around 9:00, I tried for the fourth and final time. I was the only car leaving the complex at that point, and so I was able to take a “running start” at the hill. This time I managed to make it up, but I don’t recommend the technique to the faint of heart.

And what luck! I had only gotten about a quarter of a mile down the road when I got behind a plow train of five very large trucks, all with their plows down, and three spitting out cinders. There was no way to pass them, so I spent the next five miles doing twelve miles an hour and dodging cinder-spray.

At least I got useful stuff done this morning while stranded at the apartment. I did some web banking, cleaned the cats’ litter boxes (though I need to add more litter), emptied out last night’s cleaning from the dishwasher and put in this morning’s dirties. I also re-watched a Babylon episode that I fell asleep during last night (did I neglect to mention that I purchased the newly released Babylon 5 fourth season set?).

Tonight on the way home I’ll need to do some grocery shopping. Today is payday, and the freezer is emptier than it’s been since The Socialist and I moved into this apartment. We’re OK on veggies, but a bit low on proteinacious substances. I’m also hoping to get a six-pack of Buckler beer, the only pseudo-beer that is even remotely worth drinking.

While I’m listing my to do list, I ought to mention that my little Prius goes in for an oil change tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is an easy workday for me, because the departments I do my work in are all closed for renovations. I still need to come in, but I only need to put in a token appearance. This doesn’t exactly make up for working those Saturdays in December, but it helps.

My big event for tomorrow is my first release of captive books into the wild. As previously mentioned, my car has to go in for an oil change tomorrow morning. I’m planning to leave two or three Bookcrossing books in the waiting room of the dealership. Keep your fingers crossed that they are found by someone who cares about books too.