As you all know, the nation's capitol has had quite an experience with snow...LOTS OF SNOW...so far this winter. I have loved my first experience with "real" snow and hope that it snows maybe once or twice again before winter ends...just so long as it doesn't snow 20-30 inches again! DC is so beautiful after a fresh snowfall and I didn't mind tramping through multiple inches of snow to take lots of pics of the three big blizzards we've had. I loved sitting in my apartment curled up on the couch just watching the snow fall through my windows. There is something so romantic and whimsical to me about a snowy day. Unfortunately, the days following a fresh snow are not so romantic and whimsical! The beautiful snow eventually turns to nasty, brown mush and then it all freezes into big solid blocks that make walking quite a challenge. Speaking of walking, guess how I got home from work the other night? Yep, I walked....all the way from Chevy Chase, MD to Georgetown. Altogether I walked about 5 miles through piles of nasty snow and ice patches. I know what you're thinking. Why in the heck did she walk home from work when DC has a metro system and zillions of cabs? Well, DC metro system and its cabs were NOT functioning properly by any means on Friday! My car was still encased in ice and snow, so I rode the bus to work with no problems. The ride home was a totally different story. I spent TWO HOURS on one bus and we only went ONE MILE. When we arrived at the next stop where I could catch the last bus to Georgetown, there were hundreds of very unhappy people waiting for buses that were obviously not coming anytime soon. And wouldn't you know that there were probably ten buses on the side of the road all with their "Not In Service" signs lit up. Ugghh! So, I decided to walk a little bit and just grab a cab home. Just grab a cab, simple, right? NO. Every single cab I flagged down just flew by like I didn't even exist! By this time my hands and feet were feeling slighty frostbitten, despite being properly covered in boots and gloves. I resorted to the fact that I had no choice but to keep on walking. So, I started walking down Wisconsin Avenue and saw two guys waiting at a metrobus stop who appeared to be just as frustrated as I was. I told them that if they were waiting for the bus then they better not hold their breath because it wasn't coming anytime soon. One of them said he was headed to Georgetown and he offered to walk with me. I know this sounds like a possibly dangerous situation, but he was a very nice young man and assured me that he was not a creep! So, we started walking and I was so thankful to have the company and the protection from real creeps who might have been lurking around! He was just as nice as he could be and thanks to him my walk home was not nearly as miserable as it could have been. But, by the time I finally got home my hands and feet were swollen because they were so cold. After a VERY hot shower I finally felt normal again! Needless to say, that long walk made for a very good nights sleep. Unfortunately, I had to wake up early Saturday morning to start walking again to class through the ice and snow. Thankfully class is not five miles away!
Now, I swore on Friday that I would never set foot on a metrobus again as long as I live. After pondering the idea of paying someone to dig my car out, I decided to take on the task myself. I paid some guys to do it last week and it just ended up snowing again and my money went right down the drain because I never even moved my car! My only problem was that I do not own a snow shovel and there are none to be found in this city because they've all been bought. My landlords were out of town this weekend and I didn't have access to theirs, but I did manage to find just a regular old shovel in their storage room that connects to my apartment. I figured it was better than nothing, so I decided to give it a try. All I have to say to you is: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SHOVEL HARD, ICY SNOW WITH A GARDEN SHOVEL! You will pull every muscle in your body and be completely immobile when you wake up the next morning. Obviously, you can't make a very wide path with a garden shovel, so you do probably four times as much shoveling with a regular shovel! But, I was determined to get that car out and by george I did! Of course now that I spent all those hours shoveling and working so hard to get my car out, I don't want to move it and lose my parking space! Parking spaces are precious around here in all this snow because most people haven't moved and the snow piles have made spaces even more limited. So, I have decided to keep my precious space for a little while longer and try the bus one more time tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't have to walk home from Maryland tomorrow night!
And Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!
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