Grown-ups don't get snow days

[illusionofjoy]

Several years ago, while I still lived in Northern New York, a huge ice storm hit the region. The power was out for nearly two weeks and my family ended up staying at a disaster shelter for a few days. While nothing like that has happened since, this morning the landscape was looking somewhat similar to what I had experienced back in New York.

Starting yesterday, Western Pennsylvania was hit by a severe snowstorm, which blanketed most of the state. This evolved into freezing rain by the afternoon, turned back into snow overnight and then once more became freezing rain just in time for this morning's rush.

Everyone in my office had been turned out of work at 3:00PM yesterday due to the weather. I met up with joi_division and drove her home, managing a brisk 20MPH over the slushy roads. I even managed to avoid going into a skid, until reaching the street we live on, where two brainless teenagers had decided to take advantage of the untreated condition of the road by snowboarding right in the middle of it. I wish I could have mowed down the little bastards.

Where I work, there is a toll-free employee information line which one can call to get information about whether or not one is supposed to report to work in light of extenuating circumstances such as adverse weather (which the National Weather Service even strongly advised against venturing out into). When I called early this morning, the computerised woman on the other end of the line advised me that "all operations were proceeding as normal," ergo, with no sick days to burn, I ventured out to go to work.

I usually ride the trolley to go to my job downtown; however the light rail lines had been crippled by the ice storm. The freezing rain had built up on the conducting wires to such a degree that no electricity was making it to the cars. In place of the trolleys, the Port Authority advised riders to catch substitute "rail shuttle" buses. Already delayed by the hill I have to climb to get to my usual trolley stop, I was lucky enough to catch one of these buses just as it was pulling up to the station.

The ride downtown was fairly uneventful, aside from my concern on several occasions that, when going down Pittsburgh's many hills, the wheels of the bus were sliding, rather than going 'round and 'round. Still, my nervous disposition and short temper didn't manifest until the bus actually made it downtown and one of the other passengers stood up to have a chat with the driver.

A balding snow-capped man in his late fifties or early sixties had walked to the front of the bus and began with what seemed to be an innocuous inquiry for the driver: are you going to be stopping at a certain trolley stop. The driver informed the man that, because of the weather, he wasn't able to. At this point, the old fart got crotchety. "What the hell," he sniped, "you can weave all the way around the South Hills..."

I didn't bother listening to the rest, as I bluntly projected the words, "Oh SHUT up" at the white-haired whiner. The phrase just slid out of my mouth, what little control I generally manage to exercise over pointing out the self-serving stupidity of my fellow human beings vanquished by my concerns with riding to work. The man shut his mouth and immediately disembarked at the next stop - which happened to be nowhere near where he had wanted to be let off.

In all, I managed to walk into the office forty-five minutes past my usual start time, making it so that I walked out forty-five minutes past my usual end time. Meanwhile, half of my co-workers didn't even bother walking in at all. When I finally left for the day, the trolley lines were still inoperative and I ended up taking another bus home.

Joi and I don't usually do much for Valentine's Day. She had mentioned that she'd wanted a card, but given the weather, I wasn't about to go trekking out to the supermarket. Rumour has it that it still isn't too late to give her my dick in a box, however. Meanwhile, that would go well with the card she gave me. Apparently she likes having me around because it gives her something to do with her hands…so says the card, anyhow.

Tomorrow, the National Weather Service is calling for snow and 40MPH winds along with a severe drop in temperature. I think Mother Nature is on the rag.

Comments

[slinkybetty.livejournal.com]

i remember the ice storm of 98! we didn't have power for three or four days, and we were lucky. some people in my old town lost it for nearly a month. the fish in my aquarium dies and the and the pretty crabapple tree in our front yard was destroyed, but other than that we didn't fare too badly.

we were hit with a wee bit of ice and maybe 3-4 inches of snow yesterday. nothing compared to northern ny. however, since no one seems to know how to plow the roads properly around here, it may as well be another ice storm. 24 hours after the snow fell, the roads are still not plowed, so everything is a slushy snowy mess and everyone is going mad.