I was at work yesterday preparing for the Arizona snowpocalypse. I’ve lived in Michigan and Pennsylvania, so I’m no slouch in the snow department. I’ve had to abandon vehicles on the interstate due to snow. The biggest problem with snow in Arizona is that when it hangs around, nobody knows what to do. Many Arizonans are transplants from colder, snowier locals. For me, it’s been eleven years since I’ve driven in real snow, and I imagine longer for others.
For work, I had to prepare for the impending snow. It was stuff like make sure flashlights have fresh batteries and check the fuel levels of the back-up generators. About four hours into my ten-hour shift (I was taunting nature to really give me the snow) the general manager started sending people home. I resisted, and it was like the negotiation scene from Firefly at the end of The Train Job. I went home to avoid getting kicked into an engine. (Not really, but he’s also a Firefly fan, and I could totally see it going that way. It was either this or a Star Trek reference.)
Anyway, after the 60-minute drive home, (it normally takes about half an hour) Erika and I watched an indie film, after that, I watched another by myself. Alyssa played in and outdoors, tracking snow through the house as she remembered some toy or something she wanted. Anthony usually stays at grandma’s house because she watches the countdown. (I’m in bed by nine.) The snow cancelled this year’s plan and he was forced to do whatever 14-year-old boys do on New Year’s Eve in his own room.
At one point, I think it was while we were all fending for ourselves for lunch, Erika and Alyssa decided to only communicate by rhyming and singing to “Let it Snow.” It lasted about fifteen minutes before one of them gave up. I’ll never, under the penalty of perjury, divulge who gave up first. The rest of the day was full of lazy, with the exception of making sure the dogs got in at least one of their daily walks. And of course, fresh snow equals Alyssa building a snowman.
I hope everyone who visits the blog and follows me on twitter has a safe and prosperous new year.
Article 94 
January 1st, 2015 at 16:18
Poor boy!
January 1st, 2015 at 16:21
I know, right? Rest assured, I’ve spent most of today on the couch listening to Linkin Park and playing Skylanders.
January 2nd, 2015 at 07:17
I’m curious – how much snow was required before the boss sent you home?
I live in CO and we have the opposite phenomenon – most of our transplants are from warmer climates. It’s obvious which ones they are when it snows.
January 2nd, 2015 at 07:19
I would have to estimate that it was the white-out conditions and the promise of 6-8 inches. I think he stayed for the whole shift though. He has a 4-wheel drive truck.
January 2nd, 2015 at 07:24
oh that’s not bad. I was afraid you were going to say an inch. :)
January 2nd, 2015 at 07:32
Even an inch or two is enough to bring out the crazy around here. I’m not sure why it took them so long to roll the snow plows, they had like a week notice that the storm was coming. I didn’t see a single plow on my 12-mile, 60-minute drive home, but I saw plenty of crazy.