Snow virgin no more

(glances around sheepishly)

I umm, live on the eighth floor, and when I wrote that last entry, I just looked out the window from my desk here; I didn’t look down.  When I went to sleep this morning after work, I saw it was sorta snowing, but it didn’t look like much.  When I woke up a few hours later, I fed the cat, made coffee, got online for email and OD… and never looked down out the windows.

I finished writting that last one and shrugged into my black leather jacket, cuz it’s more waterproof than my N-3B flight Parka which I’d wore doing the papers, and had been hot, and I thought it was raining… although, that is an arctic parka, and I had reason real soon to wish I had it.

I hadn’t looked down so I didn’t see the snow covering everything.  Nicely.  Cali-blue, my beloved car, is a snow virgin no more.  I have a snow brush; I brushed off the snow and got in an’ started her up, got the defrost on, and got out to smoke and look around while she warmed up.

Ya, hoo.

It hasn’t snowed like this since the winter of 06, and, given that the predicted high temps for the coming week are below freezing, the snow is HERE.

Of course, I had to go get cat sand and cat food, and drive my car in the snow.

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE ROCKS.

Most all of my cars have been rear wheel drive, like the Mazda RX-2 in the entry before last, and I was in that mind frame, 25 years later… and the Caliber is only the second front wheel drive vehincle I’ve owned.  It snowed the first year I had the van and it had no trouble getting around, but it stayed mostly parked that time; I just walked to the supermarket.  We were on snow days – easy days.  And walking felt safer.  Yahoos in 4×4’s and SUV’s and snow.  Not a good combo.

I drove over to BiMart and bought the cat sand and the food in little pouches that Blacky loves. TWO twenty pound bags of cat sand – one for the cat and one for the car.  I had a DVD to return to Alan and I called him up from the store and drove over there, 8 miles or so, and had nooo trouble at all.  The tires are as new as the car and are M&S rated, so I just took it easy and glided through every signal on my way, all green, and got to Alan’s house, easy.

The secret to snow driving is "don’t stop".  It’s harder to get goin’ than it is to keep goin’.   And "watch your speed". I know the way to Alan’s house – been driving it for years and got the signal timing down pat, and I didn’t stop but once on the way to his place.

Front wheel drive rules.

It was then that I remembered (actually. Alan reminded me) that I hadn’t even thought of bringing the camera.  D’oh.  I stayed for lunch, which morfed into dinner and a movie – we saw "Wanted", with Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, and I gotta say. wow.  Must been awesome in the theaters.  It was wow all the way.  Great special effects.

w o w.

Anyway, I hung out at my friend’s place all day and came home with no problems, 20 -25 miles an hour all the way.  Cali is a Good car.  Fact is, maybe I’ll go out and get some practise driving her in the snow.

Work called while I was on the way home and, surprise surprise, there’s no school tormorrow. (Sarcasm, y’all)

Paid day off.  And Winter Break starts Friday after work.  Hmm.  J’ya’ think it’s too much to pray for a week of snow days?  Gimme a chance to get used to this car in snow, and then off on a thousand mile drive to see the family.  Too much, maybe?

Well.

***

So, the lesson for the day is?

Probably a good Idea to look down regularly.

******