Well, public transportation has served me well thus far (other than adding a few hours to my commute)....
On the second evening I took the bus home the driver let us on for free! (well other than attempting to steal the Christmas present I had in my arms...) so that was nice. There was a crazy man on the bus talking to himself, and another kid sitting near him that was apparently insulted by whatever talking-to-himself man was saying, because they almost came to blows and there was a lot of raised discussion, including several verses of "You BETTER not be talkin' to me!"...fortunately one got off the bus before it escalated much more. However, one has to wonder...how can you get so mad at a man who is clearly talking to himself? No matter what he's saying....hmmmm....
Unfortunately, on my way down the hill to my apt (walking) I slipped on the lovely ice and that was NOT fun, I have purple spots on my hips to prove it...I'm an old woman, get me a walker!
The next morning began my jaunt (which isn't jaunty at all) up the hill in the snow barefoot (ok not barefoot, just making sure you're paying attention...lol) and suddenly at my side appeared a woman! LITERALLY, I did not see her prior and then all of the sudden she was there, and chatting with me! We chatted politely about the weather, the hike up the hill, and the usefulness of the bus. Then standing at the busstop, she suddenly got a worried look on her face and said something along the lines of "Honey, you know, if you need a real coat (mind you, I was wearing a Columbia ski jacket) they are giving away coats and warm things for people who need them at the Westgate Chapel."......Me:...."oh....well....uh.....thank....you....."....I was amazed. Apparently, I'm not only poor, now I look like a poor person! Ohhhh, what a blow to the good ol' self esteem, and also comical....for what it's worth, I'm not yet in need of charity and am surviving just fine, although certainly not living a life of luxury, I have more than a lot of people in this world (just not compared to spoiled Americans).
On Saturday, Alma and I met up on the bus and headed to work, before which we stopped at Home Depot to look for some liquid de-icer to unfreeze my car doors (oh yeah, i left my car at work for a few days because the doors froze shut)....unfortunately the woman at Home Depot gruffly informed us that the entire state is sold out....duh (implied). Then she took us a to large man named "Moose" who sold me on denaturalized alcohol...which would supposedly melt the ice, over a period of a couple hours (and I really hope not take the paint off my car!). Needless to say we were late to work....bah!
On my break I headed back into the cold and put the alcohol on my car doors....and then headed back inside and proceeded to attempt to thaw my feet, with the help of a space heater and loving coworker...working all day with cold feet - ouch! This was the day that my beloved younger brother was meant to arrive from Moscow (Idaho, not Russia)...so my parents were on their way over to pick him up from SeaTac and were nice enough to meet me after work to put chains on my car. Unfortunately they were over an hour late, so I sat and waited for them.....yowza, cold! They headed off to pick up the brother and I puttered home on my chains at 20 miles an hour....but I made it home! (Finally around 4 in the afternoon).
A few short hours later, my parents discovered my brother's flight was delayed...and then delayed...and then cancelled...then transferred....Needless to say, he DID get as far as Boise, and then spent the night in the airport. Around midnight my parents finally ended up at my apartment, as they were stuck in Seattle waiting for my brother. They spent a very uncomfortable night worried about my brother all alone (on his first ever solo flying experience) and sleeping on a very small and hard futon....with the piddly amount of spare blankets and sheets I own for warmth! This morning my brother finally got a flight into SeaTac on standby - praise the Lord! My parents were able to go get him and made it home safely to Sequim by this evening. Once all this was accomplished I think I was finally able to let all the stress of this past week go (at least to some extent) and spent a large part of the day asleep....I really needed it! I didn't get much else done today, but I can rest a little easier now, knowing that the most important people in my life are safe and sound. My hope is to make it to Sequim to be with them for Christmas...but even if I can't, at least I know they are all there :)
Tomorrow morning I'm headed back the the bus....we shall see what interesting stories await me......It hasn't stopped snowing today....at all, except for maybe a half hour this morning......
To all of you out there who are struggling with flights or in airports or simply trying to get home for Christmas, I empathize with you and wish you the best of luck in your (mis)adventures!
P.S. Who ever wrote "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...." - IDIOT!
3 comments:
I found your blog and immediately found some things that were familiar, mainly that we lived in Lynnwood for 21 years and now live in Sequim. I hope the snow isn't too hard for you. I don't remember it being this bad in ages. I was born and raised in Seattle and have only lived in these three cities.
Okay, so I know this blog was written weeks ago, but I just came across it...we flew into Spokane for Christmas and were greeted with FEET, not inches of snow. I commiserate with you b/c folks on the west side of the mts don't know what to do with the white stuff, but it's not as bad as you think :)
S
My son and his family, and my husband's siblings and their families are living in Spokane, and they are so tired of the snow.
That's why I live in Sequim.
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