My first snow...16:28 Dec 13 2010
Times Read: 642
So, I'm from the deep south. We get one day of snow a year if we are lucky, and it never lasts more then a day. I've never had to drive in it, or prepare for it.
I recently moved, as you know, very far north. Yesterday was our first snow of the season, and it happend to be a wind storm on top of that. I have to drive about 45 min to get to work. Needless to say, I had a bad day.
First, when I opened my front door, snow came billowing in. a mound that had formed outside my door came crashing into my apartment, which I later had to mop up. Whatever, I could deal with that. This was fun, new, and exciting.
It started out fun. I walked out of my apartment into the swirling, pounding snow to uncover and warm up my car. I dusted off the doors first so I could get in and crank my car. The doors were frozen shut, as you might have guessed. So, I scraped and pulled and kicked and cussed at my doors, untill I finally got the passenger door open. I crawled over to the drivers seat and cranked my car. I then proceeded to open the door from the inside. Well, good old Bertha, my car, didn't like that too much. When at last I forced it open, it bent part of the frame, and now does not open properly. But yes, it does close properly so I wont fall out Haha!
So, I got out and started dusting the 6 inches of snow off of my car. Now, mind you the wind was about 20mph at this point, so all the snow that I brushed off came back and hit me in the face, no matter which way I moved. I finally got back in car, drenched, and sat for anther minute while my car finished warming.
I backed out of my parking space, and drove around the building to the exit onto the road, which had not been plowed or driven over yet. (Well maybe it had but it was still snowing very hard and the wind just covered everything back up.) So, I drive my little, beat up car out into the snow coverd road and start my journey.
At first, Bertha was doing fine, though she obviously wasn't happy. I made my way to the interstate, when looked as though it had been passed over with a plow, quite unsuccesfully. Of course I was driving like a 90 year old woman at this point, never getting over 30mph. (If I was lucky to get that fast.) Everything was fine untill I got into St. Louis. People who had obviously lived here forever where honking and passing me. (And no I was not the only one driving extreamly slow.) After I got into the city, sliding all over my lane the whole way, I witnessed several of those people speeding past me run into the retaining walls.
I was 2 minutes away from work. I had one last exit, which happend to be a fairly sharp, downward curve. Bertha didn't want to do it. I fishtailed into the guard rail, back end first, and whiped around and hit the side of my car, and kept going. Yes, I let off the gas and let her do what she had to do. Finally she, on her own, makes it out of the curve and back onto a some-what safer road. I trucked along and made it to the parking deck of my work. I sat for a second, dreading to get out and see the damage. I forced the door open, and to my surprise, nothing. My car already has some crazy scratches and dings in it, and I couldn't see anything new. Tires where fine, though I need new ones, and no new damage that I could see.
Shaken, I walked into work and proceeded to open the store. I ended up cutting the bed of my nail on the safe at work. Ouch. Work the rest of the day was slow, due to the storm, and was relatively pleasant. Getting off time was approaching, I started to get nervous again about driving the long treck home. The roads by this time where almost clear of snow. So, I biddy-bopped down the interstate, with crazy people passing me of course, and made my way home, of course, slidding all over the place.
I am alive. That I must be thankfull for. My car still runs. I don't know how ling it will take, but I know I'll get used to this weather eventually. But for now, I'm just going to bitch and moan about it. HA!
COMMENTS
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MySleepyGrenade
01:50 Dec 14 2010
Oh no! lol welcome to midwest winters love....and we only have ohhh 5 months to go ;)
Glad to hear you and Bertha are ok and no major damage was done :)
PAGAN
13:23 Dec 14 2010
glad you're ok :)