Allow me to tell you all about my tip-toe through the ice fields yesterday. ^_^
-- My day started out normally, except there was snow out, and it was building up fast. I decided to leave for work early. 45 mins early since the snow sorta snuck up... expectedly snuck up.
-- So I'm on the bus, and it's going 5 miles per hour, right? Well fear that I may not make it to work on time starts to creep up on me. Lots of bus newbs make their appearance on the bus, and are surprised when they learn they have to pay money to ride. The driver sits with the door open as these people slowly take their gloves off and fish out money.
My irritation with humanity grows.
-- After getting off the bus, I was crossing the street, and hit a patch of Black Ice. I hit the ground HARD. I fell on all of my left side. Even now, there's a long bruise running up and down my arm, hip, and leg. I hurt.
-- Slow day at work. People, the smart ones anyway, stayed home. (notice how I didn't stay home? yeah. ^_^; )
I decided to visit a Youth drop in center. There was a keen informitive meeting going on that night, and I wanted to listen to the 411 on that. I noted at that time the tempature was 28 degree's. (freezing is 32 I belive)
So I find a bus that'd take me there... Only the driver announced upon my entry that an area of the city was inaccessable, and we'd have to detour. the Detour was a big one, and on a dry normal day would have tacked 20 extra minutes to the journey.
Except that it was snowing evil.
-- 35 minutes into the detour, we get stuck behind a bus that had been stuck in the snow. It was in all sense, decommishioned for the day. it was Smack dab in the middle of the intersection too, and we couldn't round around it. We were stuck there. The driver talked with traffic police on the scene, and reported to the rest of us that a tow truck was on the way, but it'll be a while before it'd get there. We were al welcome to stay in the warm bus, or get off and find a new bus elsewhere.
(I should add, all day I saw decomishioned busses. Busses that got stuck on snowy hills, broken chains, or whatever. They were everywhere.)
Remember when I said the smart people stayed home? And Notice how I didn't stay home? ... I got off the bus.
I wasn't prepared, clothes-wise, for an artic journey. Thankfully I bumped int Julia, a girl I work around that was in the same pickle in the bus behind me. So we walked and talked.
We walked far, uphill, in the snow...
naked barefoot and with bricks in our bags! Sorry, old lady moment there. So we walked and we walked. I was trying to find a bus to take me where I needed to go, and Julia was walking home. She lives as little further than I was walking, so dispair hit me as I realised that I'd be walking the REST of the way to this place.
The smart people stayed home...
-- So at some point we parted ways, and I walked to the Youth center. I was a snowman by time I got there. And it was closed. Yes, I had arived EARLY, and the bloody place was closed! It opened at 4:00, and it was a few minutes before 4pm. I waited and I waited. 4pm rolled around, and it didn't open. I thought, "gee, maybe the place is closed because of the snow."
Thankfully it opened just then cause the one vollenteer was aware of frantic pacing sounds on the porch. ^_^;
The meeting I was present for happened at 7pm, so I had a few hours to kill... and kill them I did. Shivering. Cause the Youth Center is underfunded and poorly heated.
-- 7pm rolled around, and I find out the meeting was cancled cause of the snow! oh lovely. So, I start my journey home. Normally it's a 1 hour commute from that youth center.
-- It was raining out. It was raining Sleet. Sleet is rain that has partially crystalised from the cold upon it's decent. But it's not rock hard ice (hail), and splatters on impact. It feels like you're being peppered with broken glass if it hits flesh.
I thankfully carry an umbrella, but I still wasn't prepared for any long term activity in the artic. the sun had dropped, and the tempature had dropped drasticly with it.
I found a bus that took me to transfer point 2 (of 3).
I just missed bus two, and waited an hour (it was 30 minutes late) for the next one.
At fransfer point 3, I waited 50 minutes for my bus. ALL this was conducted in the freezing cold. It had to be 10 degree's out!!
I had a bra, a tank, a turtle neck long sleeze shirt, and a denim jacket. Cotton gloves, jeans, and 2 inch heeled boots. I was violently shivering.
The bus FINALLY came, and I nearly skipped to it... except the bruise running down my left side informed me that would be unwise.
-- I fell asleep on the bus. I missed my stop, and didn't wake up until I had overshot it about 2 miles. I got off, and began my walk back the way the bus came. It was an uphill trek, along a winnding weaving SLUSHY road. It was raining sleet still.
I get hom finally, and it's 11pm. Bits of me were litterly blue, my body convusling with cold and bruised, my clothes damp from the rain, and I was hungry. I imediately bee-lined for the shower. tore off all my clothes, and jumped into hot skulding water. ^_^ mmmmmmmm
-- I woke this morning with a crick in my neck and bad PMS.
Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2004 10:24 pm
