Never Trust a Weatherman

Most Mondays, I work in the evening. Bestsellers come out Tuesday morning, and I'm usually scheduled Monday night to prepare them for the next day. I don't mind doing this.

The only problem is that all the managers have to come in for a 2 hour meeting on Monday mornings. So even if you're scheduled at night, or have the day off, you still have to attend the meeting. I live a half hour away, so this kind of sucks when I have to drive back twice in one day.

This morning I pulled in to the store around 6:50AM. Snowflakes were just starting to come down. An hour later, the parking lot and all the cars were covered. The store manager cut the meeting short at about 8AM. He said he was thinking we'd be open today, because it was only going to be a few flakes (less than a half inch) and then rain.

Yeah.

It took me AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES to get home.

The snow was at just about an inch and a half. I couldn't figure out why there was so much damn traffic at that time of the morning. I was sitting idling next to a female Marine doing the same thing going the other way. She made a motion for me to roll down my window.

I did. "Are you going on the base?" she asked.

I answered no, and she said, "That's good 'cause they just closed it." No wonder it was so crazy! Traffic out the ASS. Idiots were going too fast and sliding around all over the place. When I drive home, I go past or near 3 different entry and exit points to the Camp Lejeune Marine base. Surrounding roads are packed with stand-still vehicles. I think I listened to the CD I had in my car about 3 times.

Anyway, I got in the door and checked the J-ville Mall website and they said they were closing the mall for the day. I texted my co-worker friend and she said she'd left me a message on my home phone. She thought I'd already be home at that time!

If the mall closes, we close. So I get a snow day! There's a good two inches or more out there where I live, and it's still coming down just as hard as it was earlier.

The birds are having a winter feast.

I laughed when this cardinal flew down to the ground from the feeder and surprised himself when he just slipped down into the snow. He was a bit pissed off, and just kind of sat there with an, "I can't believe all this effing snow!" sort of look on his little bird face, with only his head sticking out.




I've lived here for almost 5 years come February, and I've never seen a frequency of snow like this. Not that it's tons, but usually if we see ONE snowfall during the winter it's an event. This winter, it's almost common now.