February 18
SHEESH.
SHEESH.
Went back to my old workplace to pick up some papers to deliver for a friend. Half hour before I left, I noticed some flakes blowing around in the driveway. Not big flakes, just a bunch of little flakes. But nothing crazy.
Half hour later, I walk outside and both cars are in the process of being buried.
WTH???
I immediately change my mind about running additional errands-- I'm just gonna do what I need to do.
I'm furiously brushing off snow as it keeps falling and covering up the windows.
I finally leave and am caught behind various people driving slowly and very slowly. Also, lots of hazard lights being used. Okay, I get it, we're warning everybody we're going extra slow. But, at a certain point, you have to notice you're not the exception to the rule. We're ALL going extra slow. Now we just wanna know if you're gonna turn or not.
I'm grabbing at my driver's side wiper and "plucking" it mid-wipe while I'm driving, trying to clear the ice forming on the wiper, hoping it'll clear the icy rainbow streak starting to form at eye-level on the glass. Occasional success. I'm hoping I don't break the wiper while I keep doing this, or accidentally bend the metal arm-- it is my wife's car after all. I was going to switch cars in the driveway and use mine, except the snow was coming down fast enough that that seemed mostly impractical and more mostly (uh, yeah, that's grammatically correct) a pain-in-the-ass. Part of me wants to stop somewhere and clear the wiper(s) properly, part of me says screw it.
At one point, visibility was really becoming an issue, not only with the icy streak, but just partial white-out issues. I still hadn't made Millersport (this is coming from the City of Lockport) and I'm following a truck as closely as I can because I'm not quite sure what my side of the road is. Suddenly, the truck disappears into the white. Like, he's gone. We haven't hit an intersection yet. Am I going that slow? How could he just vanish? I accelerate a bit, occasionally plucking that wiper, looking for a dark mass ahead of me indicating "truck" and I finally catch up. At a stop sign, I check behind me and see no one, so I jump out (after taking off my glasses and putting them on the dashboard so they don't get wet) and try cleaning the wiper better except I forgot to stop them. Well, it's working much better than my previous method. I get back in the car.
When I finally cross MIllersport at the Millersport-New Rd traffic light, the weather starts to ease up. By the time I get to Casey via Dodge, it's just snowing a little bit, more like what I was originally expecting the weather to be like, and I can see the road.
Holy cow. Much better driving conditions to my old job.
I thought I was going to be parked on a severe incline at the loading dock with my hatchback open trying to load papers in a blizzard. Totally relieved.
Half hour later, I walk outside and both cars are in the process of being buried.
WTH???
I immediately change my mind about running additional errands-- I'm just gonna do what I need to do.
I'm furiously brushing off snow as it keeps falling and covering up the windows.
I finally leave and am caught behind various people driving slowly and very slowly. Also, lots of hazard lights being used. Okay, I get it, we're warning everybody we're going extra slow. But, at a certain point, you have to notice you're not the exception to the rule. We're ALL going extra slow. Now we just wanna know if you're gonna turn or not.
I'm grabbing at my driver's side wiper and "plucking" it mid-wipe while I'm driving, trying to clear the ice forming on the wiper, hoping it'll clear the icy rainbow streak starting to form at eye-level on the glass. Occasional success. I'm hoping I don't break the wiper while I keep doing this, or accidentally bend the metal arm-- it is my wife's car after all. I was going to switch cars in the driveway and use mine, except the snow was coming down fast enough that that seemed mostly impractical and more mostly (uh, yeah, that's grammatically correct) a pain-in-the-ass. Part of me wants to stop somewhere and clear the wiper(s) properly, part of me says screw it.
At one point, visibility was really becoming an issue, not only with the icy streak, but just partial white-out issues. I still hadn't made Millersport (this is coming from the City of Lockport) and I'm following a truck as closely as I can because I'm not quite sure what my side of the road is. Suddenly, the truck disappears into the white. Like, he's gone. We haven't hit an intersection yet. Am I going that slow? How could he just vanish? I accelerate a bit, occasionally plucking that wiper, looking for a dark mass ahead of me indicating "truck" and I finally catch up. At a stop sign, I check behind me and see no one, so I jump out (after taking off my glasses and putting them on the dashboard so they don't get wet) and try cleaning the wiper better except I forgot to stop them. Well, it's working much better than my previous method. I get back in the car.
When I finally cross MIllersport at the Millersport-New Rd traffic light, the weather starts to ease up. By the time I get to Casey via Dodge, it's just snowing a little bit, more like what I was originally expecting the weather to be like, and I can see the road.
Holy cow. Much better driving conditions to my old job.
I thought I was going to be parked on a severe incline at the loading dock with my hatchback open trying to load papers in a blizzard. Totally relieved.
Back on the road, headed towards the Colvin exit going west on the 290, I see the weather getting crappy again up ahead. We slow down, but it's more active snow condition versus the whiteout nightmare from earlier. But, I have to be on my toes. Listening to Carl Russo on 97 Rock talking about an insane line of traffic on the I-190 backed up waiting to go across the Grand Island bridge. Later, it seems the problem isn't the south bridge but the north bridge, but everyone's backed up across the island? Oy. Glad I'm not going there.
Significantly snowing as I head into NT. Finally, I'm on Vandervoort and I park and start unloading papers onto a snowy porch.
These are going to be some damp papers.
I finally get that all done, try to clear as much snow as possible that got in the back while I was unloading, clean the car, slap the wipers clean, brush off my snow encased carcass, get in the car, clean my glasses, take a deep breath and head out.
After getting onto Schenck and going past the Ghostlight Theater, I eventually turn north on 425 and then go right on Erie continuing on the 425. Traffic slows down a lot.
And as I crawl my way towards Niagara Falls Blvd., it totally clears up. The setting sun is behind me, and there's no snow whatsoever.
As I eventually head north I see a wall of clouds ahead and wonder if Lockport's being pounded still. But no. It's clear. Just really dark and grey now.
I get home and there's 5 inches of snow in the driveway, but my neighbor's a sweetheart and cleared our sidewalk along with theirs. There's some snow to clear but I'm shoveling tomorrow cuz, dammit, now I gotta pee. And if I'm taking off my boots going in the house, I ain't putting them back on and coming back out. Not tonight.
Significantly snowing as I head into NT. Finally, I'm on Vandervoort and I park and start unloading papers onto a snowy porch.
These are going to be some damp papers.
I finally get that all done, try to clear as much snow as possible that got in the back while I was unloading, clean the car, slap the wipers clean, brush off my snow encased carcass, get in the car, clean my glasses, take a deep breath and head out.
After getting onto Schenck and going past the Ghostlight Theater, I eventually turn north on 425 and then go right on Erie continuing on the 425. Traffic slows down a lot.
And as I crawl my way towards Niagara Falls Blvd., it totally clears up. The setting sun is behind me, and there's no snow whatsoever.
As I eventually head north I see a wall of clouds ahead and wonder if Lockport's being pounded still. But no. It's clear. Just really dark and grey now.
I get home and there's 5 inches of snow in the driveway, but my neighbor's a sweetheart and cleared our sidewalk along with theirs. There's some snow to clear but I'm shoveling tomorrow cuz, dammit, now I gotta pee. And if I'm taking off my boots going in the house, I ain't putting them back on and coming back out. Not tonight.
I "survived," hahaha!
JEEZ.
JEEZ.
Time for leftover spaghetti and cheesecake, baby.
This was originally posted on my Facebook account.
