Sunday, February 8, 2015

The art of dealing with an Ice Day

The state issued an ice day warning and several schools were closed for the day. I was warned to allow myself plenty of time to get ready for work in the morning. So I woke up at 6:00am to prepare for a 9AM work arrival. I had an automatic starter for my car, thank goodness and I gave myself 5 additional minutes, but of course that was a total underestimation. I scurried outside with my work equipment and to my chagrin, my car was covered with a thick sheet of ice. Not being used to dealing with such things, I thought my defroster could just melt the ice right off my windshield along with the fluid and wipers. I was definitely wrong.

Spray spray spray! To no avail! The ice thickened on my windshield and I panicked as I saw a crack starting to form right in front of the driver's side. A crack in my windshield in the dead of winter at 10 degrees?! Panicked, I found my scraper/brush in my backseat and hurried back out and started scraping the ice off my windows. Thank goodness, I realized the crack, was just a crack through the thick ice sheet and my windshield was unscathed. After 20 minutes, my car was warmed and cleared. I was relieved, but now late.

My drive was 75 miles and here and there I would space out while driving. I remember having a thought about whether I would miss living here. I somehow learned to appreciate the "simple life" without the myriad of distractions and obligations that used to overwhelm me in the city. One big difference was driving vs. public transportation.  I made several wrong exits on my way to work and as I was trying to get back on the highway driving at 10 mph at an intersection, the light turned from green to yellow and red, and my car suddenly would not stop. It's the worse when your foot is on the brake and it's as though your own foot is sliding across the ice. Sure enough, I had hit black ice and I was slipping through a red light with no control. Uhghh...ok I accepted that I was going to hit a car..an embankment..something?!

I somehow made it back safely on the road after swerving and missing a car. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest and my hands trembled. Angrily I thought that this winter driving was unnecessary stress and fear. I was definitely not going to miss this. 

The rest of the day was uneventful for the better. I did not have any more car incidents and did not fall and hurt myself.

Until... I was safely back at home and was so happy that I did not have any accidents on my ice day. I made myself a butternut squash soup, using my 2 week old Nutribullet to blend up the squash. I had the bullet on tight and let it run for about 2 minutes and then looked over and saw it spewing, and up it went! On the ceiling, the microwave, fridge, cabinets, pictures, and the floor. Oh no!!! I tried to stop the bullet, which refused to stop whirling and then slipped and fell. While on the ground I frustratingly thought it was butternut squash soup that got me for the day instead of the "ice day". I was covered from head to toe with soup and reached for the plug. Possessed. I had a fleeting thought about taking a picture of the mess because it was quite ridiculous and outrageous. But I wanted to quickly clean everything up before it left yellow stains all over the kitchen. No more butternut squash soup to eat either, just a fat bruise on my right ankle and thighs. I felt a little sad, but thankfully no bone fractures. Maybe it's a good thing that I take my calcium chews and strength training.

I was now late for my Barre class. I showered off, but didn't wash my hair thinking I didn't get any soup on my head. I cleaned the bullet knowing that it was completely ruined and was going to bring it back to BB&B. I was in the car again and ran my hand through my hair. It was gritty. I would say hot mess, but it was a cold day.

Class was totally fine and I shared my story with my friends who were amused. I was feeling much better having my endorphins kick up my mood. I scurried over to BB&B with the Nutribullet box and all its accessories. I told them about my incident and that the bullet would not stop spinning and how my soup had sprayed all over the kitchen. I mumbled that it was possessed, yes as stupid as it sounds. "Do you have your receipt?" "Nope I don't, but it was charged to my card 2 weeks ago." And she took a new one off the shelf and took my box. "Do you want me to sign anything or fill out a form?" "Nope, you're all set." I was so happy and pleased with their customer service that I gleefully frolicked back to my car and as I opened up my car door, I slipped on some black ice and fell.




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