We already knew the weather was going to go south, but just how far south we didn’t know. In fact, based on what they were saying, we even anticipated that school might be canceled. A call came about ten minutes before 6am that school was indeed closed. Mindy was thrilled and rolled back over and went to sleep. Meanwhile, I got up and got going with my morning.
We already had about two inches on the ground and it was still coming down. Schools were canceled because the snow was expected to pile up to ten inches through the day and then a thick layer of ice and sleet to boot.
After exercising Ykraps and I ventured out for our morning walk. The conditions were brutal with snow coming down hard and horizontal from the east. After making quick work of our walk, I unleashed Ykraps into the house and began shoveling the drive. I knew that if I didn’t shovel we could have a real problem on our hands later with the ice and all. After shoveling I found my phone ringing. It was Lindsey wanting to know if Mindy would be kind enough to keep Lil’ Rocky since schools were closed. Mindy lovingly agreed.
Back inside I was more than delighted to get some coffee in me. I went about the rest of my morning prep just like any other day. I played a little, packed my lunch, and made my breakfast. After a shower and dressing for work I was back downstairs to ready for departure.
I warmed the Trooper then once again shoveled the drive in case Mindy had to leave. We had already accumulated another inch or two. Driving into work was slow but no real traffic jams. The lot was completely barren when I arrived. I was surprised! We also had a couple of call-offs due to weather and closed schools. After getting some coffee I remembered to call Mindy to let her know that I arrived safely.
The snow kept coming down and the forecasters reaffirmed what they had promised all along – very heavy snow and lots more coming. We collectively decided to buy pizzas for our team at my prompting. I agreed to pick them up after my run. I left for my run at 11am to ensure a 1230 pizza pick-up and to get my run out of the way before it really got bad.
It was a fun and exciting run tromping through the heavy snow. It was tough going for the first mile running through unplowed streets until I got to the asphalt trail leading to the high school which any more is always plowed early. Today was no different. The stretch out was easier than the return since the weather was uncharacteristically coming out of the east. And once I got past the housing development the wind picked up and large drifts were forming across the trail making running a bit more challenging. Still, it was fun.
I made it back in about 47 minutes – about five minutes longer than usual. After a quick shower I drove off to pick-up the fourteen pizzas at the Hilliard Joseppi’s. I called Mindy on my way after seeing that I missed a call or two. We chatted briefly, and during our call she mentioned finding a Word document that shared intimate details of my life from the third grade onward. I wrote this to better understand how I got to be the person I am. Glaring to her was one relationship in particular. Truth be told, I was a little taken back that she felt so comfortable reading my private docs regardless of how she came about them. We discussed it only briefly before I arrived at Joseppi's. The pizzas were ready just as I arrived. Perfect! After loading the Trooper, I was on my way back to the office. It was 12:35pm. The weather was demanding of my focus, so focus I did. I called one of my engineers on my way back and asked that he meet me at the rear door to help carry the fourteen pies. The pies were delicious. We destroyed our seven rather quickly. I chose to leave my packed lunch in the fridge and instead enjoy some pizza.
The rest of the day and afternoon went slower than usual only because I ran so early. Generally I'm not back from my run until 2pm and finished eating by 2:30pm. But here I was with the entire afternoon still in front of me. I used the time wisely meeting with my engineers reviewing their 2006 performance. I left for home around 5:20pm destined for home. The snow was still coming down although it was more like ice balls by now, and the roads were a total mess. Lots of vehicles were off the roads. I navigated carefully and arrived home around 5:45pm. After a quick walk of Ykraps I got to shoveling again. Mindy had shoveled for the third time around 2pm. Now, we had about one or two inches of icy snow that was stuck to the drive. The snow in the road was about 10 inches deep and unplowed. I didn't want to leave the Trooper on the street. My only hope was to scrape the ice away and pull it up before more fell. It was coming down fast and furious.I had to unlock the shed to get to my square landscape shovel which works great for removing icy snow. That proved a bit challenging given the foot or so of snow piled against the door and the iced up locks. I got to the shovel nonetheless.
I worked my ass of getting all the ice chipped away. At first I wasn't going to use driveway salt, but opted to last minute. I was convinced it was the only way to secure an ice-free drive. The trade off is damage to the concrete. I was stiff and sore when I finished but it had to be done. Now, should Mindy have to travel tomorrow, she'll have half a chance. I chose to opt out of dinner still feeling full from the mid-day pizza. Instead, I had a few handfuls of peanuts throughout the evening while updating my blog. And when I was through, I popped some corn. It was almost 9pm by now. We tuned into the very end of Idol and stayed tuned through House. It was captivating. Mindy learned somewhere just after 8pm that school was indeed canceled for Wednesday. That's five! Any more than that and she'll need to make 'em up. We headed to bed at 10pm.
We already had about two inches on the ground and it was still coming down. Schools were canceled because the snow was expected to pile up to ten inches through the day and then a thick layer of ice and sleet to boot.
After exercising Ykraps and I ventured out for our morning walk. The conditions were brutal with snow coming down hard and horizontal from the east. After making quick work of our walk, I unleashed Ykraps into the house and began shoveling the drive. I knew that if I didn’t shovel we could have a real problem on our hands later with the ice and all. After shoveling I found my phone ringing. It was Lindsey wanting to know if Mindy would be kind enough to keep Lil’ Rocky since schools were closed. Mindy lovingly agreed.
Back inside I was more than delighted to get some coffee in me. I went about the rest of my morning prep just like any other day. I played a little, packed my lunch, and made my breakfast. After a shower and dressing for work I was back downstairs to ready for departure.
I warmed the Trooper then once again shoveled the drive in case Mindy had to leave. We had already accumulated another inch or two. Driving into work was slow but no real traffic jams. The lot was completely barren when I arrived. I was surprised! We also had a couple of call-offs due to weather and closed schools. After getting some coffee I remembered to call Mindy to let her know that I arrived safely.
The snow kept coming down and the forecasters reaffirmed what they had promised all along – very heavy snow and lots more coming. We collectively decided to buy pizzas for our team at my prompting. I agreed to pick them up after my run. I left for my run at 11am to ensure a 1230 pizza pick-up and to get my run out of the way before it really got bad.
It was a fun and exciting run tromping through the heavy snow. It was tough going for the first mile running through unplowed streets until I got to the asphalt trail leading to the high school which any more is always plowed early. Today was no different. The stretch out was easier than the return since the weather was uncharacteristically coming out of the east. And once I got past the housing development the wind picked up and large drifts were forming across the trail making running a bit more challenging. Still, it was fun.
I made it back in about 47 minutes – about five minutes longer than usual. After a quick shower I drove off to pick-up the fourteen pizzas at the Hilliard Joseppi’s. I called Mindy on my way after seeing that I missed a call or two. We chatted briefly, and during our call she mentioned finding a Word document that shared intimate details of my life from the third grade onward. I wrote this to better understand how I got to be the person I am. Glaring to her was one relationship in particular. Truth be told, I was a little taken back that she felt so comfortable reading my private docs regardless of how she came about them. We discussed it only briefly before I arrived at Joseppi's. The pizzas were ready just as I arrived. Perfect! After loading the Trooper, I was on my way back to the office. It was 12:35pm. The weather was demanding of my focus, so focus I did. I called one of my engineers on my way back and asked that he meet me at the rear door to help carry the fourteen pies. The pies were delicious. We destroyed our seven rather quickly. I chose to leave my packed lunch in the fridge and instead enjoy some pizza.
The rest of the day and afternoon went slower than usual only because I ran so early. Generally I'm not back from my run until 2pm and finished eating by 2:30pm. But here I was with the entire afternoon still in front of me. I used the time wisely meeting with my engineers reviewing their 2006 performance. I left for home around 5:20pm destined for home. The snow was still coming down although it was more like ice balls by now, and the roads were a total mess. Lots of vehicles were off the roads. I navigated carefully and arrived home around 5:45pm. After a quick walk of Ykraps I got to shoveling again. Mindy had shoveled for the third time around 2pm. Now, we had about one or two inches of icy snow that was stuck to the drive. The snow in the road was about 10 inches deep and unplowed. I didn't want to leave the Trooper on the street. My only hope was to scrape the ice away and pull it up before more fell. It was coming down fast and furious.I had to unlock the shed to get to my square landscape shovel which works great for removing icy snow. That proved a bit challenging given the foot or so of snow piled against the door and the iced up locks. I got to the shovel nonetheless.
I worked my ass of getting all the ice chipped away. At first I wasn't going to use driveway salt, but opted to last minute. I was convinced it was the only way to secure an ice-free drive. The trade off is damage to the concrete. I was stiff and sore when I finished but it had to be done. Now, should Mindy have to travel tomorrow, she'll have half a chance. I chose to opt out of dinner still feeling full from the mid-day pizza. Instead, I had a few handfuls of peanuts throughout the evening while updating my blog. And when I was through, I popped some corn. It was almost 9pm by now. We tuned into the very end of Idol and stayed tuned through House. It was captivating. Mindy learned somewhere just after 8pm that school was indeed canceled for Wednesday. That's five! Any more than that and she'll need to make 'em up. We headed to bed at 10pm.
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