2007-01-17 - 9:52 p.m.
It's been very mild most of the winter. Heck, it was in the 60s and 70s on New Year's Day. Not tonight: 30 chilly little degrees. And the Weather Channel is using the "s" word, causing panic in the hearts of North Carolinians everywhere. There's a chance (a chance!) of light snow in the wee hours of the night, followed by rain tomorrow. Any mention of the "s" word strikes fear into everyone's hearts.
People at work were discussing the inclement weather policy, and making sure everyone had a phone tree, in case work's closed tomorrow. Hell, I'm not that fortunate.
I must confess that I don't drive in bad weather here, for two reasons. 1) Inexperienced drivers, especially in SUVs. They don't observe Snow Rule Number One: slow down. They don't know that stopping time triples (or worse) in bad conditions. 2) The roads here ice over. In the north, the ground freezes before the snow flies, so snow blows around. Here, the ground never freezes. Snow hits it, melts, and freezes after sundown, creating black ice. Driving on ice is treacherous no matter how many wheels you're using.
So when the roads are bad, I stay put and wait for the thaw that's sure to come. It usually only takes a day, maybe two. And if we get actual snow accumulation? I'll be out shoveling my sidewalk, like a good Yankee.
Computer update: the IT guy not only fixed my computer, I still have all my old settings, music files, photos, the whole mess. What a peach!
