Snow day!

[rivka]

There's about four inches of snow on the ground already, and it's snowing steadily. The Weather Channel is predicting a total accumulaton of 8-12 inches. The roads are a mess, and commuter rail is running at least an hour behind and canceling trains due to frozen switches. The clinic, needless to say, is closed. curiousangel's office is technically open, but they're not expecting him to show up.

Snow day! I feel like a little kid, except that my mother isn't calling me to come out and help shovel the driveway so my dad can go to work. Somehow this is a lot more fun than an ordinary holiday. I want to go out and build a snowman.

Comments

"Needless to say"?!

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Okay, *where* are you from again? Because you can't possibly be from central New York, with that attitude. ;-)

(I admit it, if they got a foot of snow in one day *here*, things would be a little chaotic. But this Michigander would laugh at them.)

Enjoy your day off!

-J

Re: "Needless to say"?!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Okay, *where* are you from again? Because you can't possibly be from central New York, with that attitude. ;-)

No, no, no. Because they're terrified of snow here, and they don't have a lot of snow removal equipment, and no one knows how to drive in snow, it is needless to specify that in the case of moderate snowfall, government offices will be promptly closed.

(I admit it, if they got a foot of snow in one day *here*, things would be a little chaotic. But this Michigander would laugh at them.)

I don't want to drive on unplowed roads with a bunch of amateur snow-drivers. I might laugh at them for panicking when there's only a few inches of snow, but I'll still stay safely at home.

Re: "Needless to say"?!

[mittelbar.livejournal.com]

If we got a foot of snow in one day in Denver, the schools would close (the first time) and one would expect many people out from work. People might laugh and say that where they came from it was different, and they might drive 80mph in their SUVs and end up overturned in the median, too. That's pretty much what would happen, yes. Lots of laughing and accidents.

Here, in the suburbs, people laugh and say that where they come from it's different, and they rush out to buy milk and toilet paper (hmm...do we have toilet paper?) and then huddle in their homes "in mortal fear of their fellow drivers," waiting for one of the county's three snowplows to get to their neighborhood or for the commuter rail switches to unfreeze. And they sincerely hope it will ice over but good, because something about living in the area seems to discourage everyone but members of Congress from taking anything resembling time off. Meanwhile, DC "braces for the storm," its ragtag army of snowplows idling bravely and occasionally sputtering to a halt as it shoulders through piles of slush and uncollected trash.

In central New York, they put the chains on and drive over to the neighbor's house to have hot chocolate and a snow day and to laugh at all the outlanders who huddle in their homes in fear of their fellow drivers.

[mittelbar.livejournal.com]

We don't get snow days. We have to take vacation for that.

In other words, I'm "working" from home.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

In other words, I'm "working" from home.

Hee. Technically, I'm also "working" from home. After all, just because the clinic is closed, that doesn't mean I can't work on the research aspects of my job. Practically, however, it's a snow day.

[geekchick]

Our office is officially closed, but there's some stuff that really ought to be done so I'll probably "work" from home a bit too. Lots of deadlines coming up. :-/

Snow!

[tendyl.livejournal.com]

Lucky!!! We don't have snow yet. It's probably coming, but enjoy it for me?

I keep trying to arrange sledding...oh well, eventually, before I move to a place where there is no snow.

[geekchick]

My boss called about 9:15 to tell me the office is closed, woohoo! Not that I wasn't planning on taking one of the personal days I need to use or lose by the end of the year anyway. ;) I haven't been able to go play in the snow in far too long.

I'm actually surprised to see that the government isn't even on liberal leave today. Makes me glad our policy isn't tied to theirs.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I'm actually surprised to see that the government isn't even on liberal leave today.

Fortunately, the Prince George's County government is a lot more wimpy. I'm also allowed to just declare that it's not safe for me to come in from all the way up north here, and cancel my patients on my own, but I'd feel guilty about it if the clinic were open.

Snow days and the federal government....

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Well, there's a reason for that.

At least when we lived in McLean, it worked like this: All the people who were high enough up to declare federal offices closed lived in D.C. proper, in places like Dupont Circle and Georgetown. The rest of the grunts lived out in the Virginia or Maryland suburbs. Since the big guys could get into the office (it never snows as much in DC as outside), they expected everyone else to do likewise. We had three major snowfalls in the year we lived there, and on only one of them was any sort of a "snow day" declared, and that only enough to allow federal workers to take vacation time -- they didn't actually get a free day.

I still remember Brian hiking rhough the snow with luggage to a major street because he was expected to go on a business trip and the taxi couldn't make it up our street. (He was flying out of National, which was open, rathern than Dulles, which was not.) Fortunately (well, not for me) he was out of town during one of the two other heavy snows (the one where the furnace died).

[jilesa.livejournal.com]

Heh... Even JHU closed for the day. Of course, they didn't *decide* they were closing down for the day until after I'd gotten to work-- 30 minutes late, of course, because two different buses got stuck this morning, necessitating hikes up to the next bus stop. I got to work just in time to turn the computer on, look at email, and then hear the announcement that they were closing the library and sending everyone home. Bleargh. At least one of my coworkers kindly drove me home, so that I didn't have to deal with more stuck buses on the way back. :P

But now I'm inside and the snow is Out There and I don't have to go out again until tomorrow morning. I have coffee and hot cocoa, and I have books to read and cats to snuggle. It could be worse. :)

[eeyorerin]

Oh goodness, I remember snow in Maryland during my undergrad days there. (And I'm from central New York). I was amazed at the chaos happening because they just didn't have the facilities to deal with it. All my native-Marylander roommates would be panicking, and I'd just be sorta like "ooh. snow. nifty. wanna go sledding?"

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Enjoy the surprise day off!

We just have flurries and slush here, so no snow days yet.

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

Snow? What is this "snow?" :-)

In the SF bay area we get stupid driver tricks when it rains; I've never witnessed a snow reaction as the one time it snowed here, I was back in Chicago enjoying a blustery, but precipitation-free, day.

Have fun and go build your snowman!{

[geekchick]

In the SF bay area we get stupid driver tricks when it rains

We get those too, the stupid snow tricks are just an added bonus. ;)

-C, Mississippi girl, freely admits to not being able to drive in the snow

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I once once trapped for almost a week by closed roads in an April snowstorm in California.

[jenett]

*grin* To be honest, 8-12 inches here, falling in the early morning or rush hour would shut down a lot of Minnesota, too.

Of course, now that I work at a high school which would actually close (and the husband-person has already said that if school closes, we're staying home) it hasn't actually closed in the 2.5 years I've been here. Though we've closed early a couple of times, or had after-school activities cancelled.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

This makes me want snow.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Oooh, snow.

May I be a vicarious virtual participant in your snow day?

I don't actually miss snow, most of the time, but I'm home sick anyway and a snow day would be nifty, 'cause I could put some wood on the fireplace and pour some Jameson's into my coffee and pretend I was all snowed in.

Instead we seem to have blue skies and temperatures in the mid 50s, and I feel like I should by Out Accomplishing Things, but don't have the energy to do it...