WNBP: Drifting Thoughts And Not So Crazy Preps.

Oh dear!  Here it is, Wednesday once again, and me with nothing to talk about!  Well...it seems to me there was a little something.  It's right on the tip of my tongue.  If only I could just recall what it was I wanted to tell you...

Aha!  I remember now.  IT WAS A GIANT, FREAKING SNOW STORM THAT BLEW OUR HATS OFF AND BURIED US IN LAYERS OF ICY DEATH!!!!!

And then there was probably a bunch of other stuff.  Why don't we get right down to it and see where the Wednesday Night Bullet Post takes us?

*I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for last Friday.  I usually just take the day off for those kinds of things.  Why waste a perfectly good day by going back to work?

*And since there was every indication that a weather "event" was in the making, it seemed prudent.

*But I didn't want anyone to think I was wimping out since the snow wasn't supposed to start until later in the day so I went to the main office to discuss it with Mr. Principal.

*He heard me out.  Listened attentively to my concerns around making it to school just in time to be sent home early.  He nodded sagely as I outlined how my horrible, fiery death-by-car-wreck could be avoided by just not coming to work on Friday.

*He nodded, then said, "But how will the cats feel about you being home all day?"

*It is entirely possible that I have become a cliche.  But let's not dwell on that...

*The snow did not start later in the day.  I started, in point of fact, rather early in the day.

*Which made the trip to the doctor's office rather tricky.  Also the trip to the grocery store and the bank.

*That was OK, though.  Right before a storm, everyone is kind of jolly around these parts.  We peruse each other's carts and chuckle over the need to purchase medications for Very Complicated Kitties before things go from bad to worse.

*Even the lady at the bank thought my comment regarding getting my car payment in just ahead of Armageddon quite witty.

*Armageddon didn't seem too far from the truth at that point.  We were talking actual, honest to God blizzard conditions, multiple feet of snow and flooding over here at the coast.

*The lady at the bank didn't see fit to correct me, at any rate.

*At last, I bade farewell to all my new foul weather friends in the outside world and went home to weather the storm.

*And it snowed.

*And snowed.

*And snowed.

*Then, just for kicks, it snowed some more.

*It all got a bit dull in the middle.  Once you've finished your storm preps (putting light sources in all rooms, purchasing a new shovel and counting the canned goods) there really isn't a heck of a lot to do.

*But then Sunday rolled around and we were all jolly again because we got to see other humans and share shoveling duties.

*We were a little less jolly when we realized that the wind was still whipping around like crazy and that our survivalist smiles were now frozen in place, but I like to think my community rose above it in the end.

*Reports vary but, when all was said and done, it looks like my town got somewhere between 27 and 30 inches of the white stuff over a twenty four hour period.  Myself, I lean towards the lower end of that scale since I don't really want to have over 30 inches of snow outside my house.

*Other people have that.  I happily concede the contest.

*It was tricky to tell just how much we really got what with the wind.  It was really crazy.

*Actual "white-out" conditions.

Mama!  Call the cable man!  I no haz picture!!!!

*It was a fickle wind as well, giving and taking with neither rhyme nor reason.

*Here is a picture of my car on Sunday morning.  Once I slogged through the thigh-high snow blocking the driver's side door, it was really rather easy to clean it off.

The winds blew in my favor.  Thank you, Winds!!

*Oh, and that big white lump directly on the right of the photo?

*Yeah, that would be my neighbor's car.

*Not so much with the "easy clean up."

*And here's something else to think about:  Everyone thinks it's great sport to make fun of Crazy Prepper Girl while the sun shines.

*But in a blizzard when she's the only one in the building with a supply of coffee, even the little specialty cups that fit in a certain popular single cup coffee maker, no one thinks Crazy Prepper Girl is all that chuckle-worthy.

*CPG is the belle of the ball.

*And willing to dispense coffee to the so-called norms who don't prepare at all for Things That Will Probably Never Happen.

*It's all over now.  The sun came out and we all went back to work come Monday morning. We were still kind of jolly.

*But once we'd had the chance to tell our tales of harrowing snowbound horror and the routine reestablished itself, we went right back to our usual grumpy and not at all friendly at the grocery store selves.

*It's right around then that you realize you didn't do nearly as much around the house as you thought you would once trapped inside.

*Storms, the really big ones, don't inspire productivity.  You'd think they would since there isn't much else to do.

*But they don't.  I still had to scramble around on Sunday night to get lunches and matching shoes together.

*I got a little reading done, though.

*Thought it was high time I checked in on my favorite self-renounced angel.

*And A Hundred Words for Hate: A Remy Chandler Novel does not disappoint.  I think it's the best one in the series, thus far!

*I may have grumped my way back to work on Monday, but the commute wasn't the reason.

*One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) is a delight on audio.

*Even if the reader completely screwed up with the lead male character's voice.

*I mean, honestly!  He sounds like everyone's favorite vampire granny and not at all like the undead hottie he is supposed to be!!!

*Some things one just has to look past.

*Much as one does with giant snowbanks and the "Crazy" part of the prepper girl with coffee she's willing to share.


And that about covers it.  Or at least as much as my internet service provider is willing to cover.  My connection has been dicey since the middle of last week and I haven't gotten around to the service call yet.  I think I'd better try to post this and go see about dinner.  I still have a lot of canned ravioli left over from the storm and it's not going to reheat itself, after all.

Or I could tuck it away for the next big storm.  Right next to the surplus coffee and toilet paper.  I rather liked being popular around here.

SA