Snowy Day from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

View from the office

You know you’re in trouble when you’ve had “one of those days” at 6:22 am in the morning. I woke up before my alarm due to go off at 6:30 am [which is not unusual] however I chose to loll-a-gag in bed [something I rarely do on a work day]. At 6:20 I decide I might as well get up and turned the TV on. As I started moving about, it finally dawned on me. I set my alarm for 6:30 – the time I was due in the hotel lobby – not the time I was suppose to get up. CRAP! Well, it’s a good thing I’m a low maintenance female. I jump in the shower, get dressed, dry my hair and I’m out the door in 15 minutes pulling a suitcase, backpack slung over one shoulder, necklace in hand, coat on haphazardly, while trying to get gloves on [it’s only in the single digits]. I make my way across the sand-filled, iced up, piles of snow parking lot to the rental car. Good news is so far I’m not cold. I’m in too much of a hurry. Shoot, she isn’t at the car (although it is running). Back track to the lobby and find her sipping coffee. Back outside, I was juggling my belongings trying desperately not to drop anything which can only mean I drop something. Just my $450 necklace. Darn it! Leaning over to grab it, my backpack slides off my shoulder and into the snow bank. Sh@t! I twist to grab that and my suitcase falls over. Okay, now I’m mad. I yank the suitcase off the muddy asphalt, toss it in the trunk followed by my backpack. As I slam the lid down, I slip and my foot slides into the 6 inches of snow under the car. Lovely! Now my black dress shoes are wet, covered in an filmy, ice crusted slime [not to mention my toes were starting to freeze). After getting into the car, I realize I don’t have my necklace. Did I forget to mention that after I picked it up I put it into my mouth [I know, I know – what am I four? I shouldn’t be sticking things in my mouth but I was trying to hurry so…]. I had it in my gloved hand when I opened the door, I was sure of this. In the meantime, I tell Leigh to drive. I’m sure it is on the floor. She switches on the light but looking for a small silver necklace on a black floor mat covered in snow in the dark wasn’t exactly ideal. I tried feeling around but frankly, that was a little gross and very wet and cold. So I pat myself down [first time I’ve been felt up in ages!] but no luck. Upon arrival at Starbucks, I look again and still no luck. Leigh suggested we look again when we came out. Since we still had a few extra minutes and the hotel is literally across the street from our office building, we went check the parking spot where we were parked. I crouched down and studied the ground. I even took off my gloves and felt around. [Insert explicit here!] Now I’m really bummed as it seems my necklace fell into a big black hole, never to be seen again. Reluctantly, I head back to the car. I open the door and look down. Wha-la! My necklace was in that small gap between the seat and the door. Relief!

Off to races we go (across the street) only to discover we cannot get in the building. Neither one of us work from this location very often so we stood inside the entrance waiting for someone with a key card so we could enter the building. There was one man already standing in the “ice box” (double glass sliding doors + 8° F = L). Soon another man entered the freeze zone stating he forgot his key. Leigh was busy texting, trying to find one of our Denver colleagues to let us in whilst I wondered why we couldn’t wait in the warm car. Soon enough another car pulled into the parking lot and we all anxiously waited to find out if it was someone who could let us in. Success!

Once upstairs, I put down my stuff down and realized I had brown and white spots from the bottom of my pants up to the knees. It looked like slid across the parking lot. Great! Totally frustrated, I go into the ladies restroom to attempt to wash off the spots. There was one emergency light on but no light switch. I assume this meant the lights were on a timer and no one in their right mind would be in the office that early. My sad attempted in the dim light was unsuccessful. And so begins my snow day. At least my pants now matched my shoes thanks to old man winter!

Now I realize a lot of people love the snow but I’m not one of them. For me, snow belongs in the mountains or on a postcard. Not in the city where people have to live their lives. Sure it is pretty, for about a minute. Then the sand trucks come, dogs pee on it, and the prettiness wears off rather quickly. The upside was my meeting in Chicago was postponed so I was able to come home early and more importantly, avoid the mess as the storm moved over the Midwest and paralyzed the Chicago area. Thanks, Murphy for letting me skate by that one!