I've had an annoying day. :angry:
I knew snow was coming to Raleigh NC, but I didn't know it was going to come down so fast once it started or that it was going to stick to the roads as quickly as it did...the snow we had a few weeks ago was different, it came down slower and it took a decently long time before it started sticking to the roads. I think the city salted last time and didn't salt this time...what are my tax dollars going towards again?? You can't afford some salt?? I blame myself partially for leaving the house on a day like today, but I expected the roads to be in the same condition as the last big snow we had.
Anyway, I noticed the snow coming down and remember that I had intended to go to Lowes Home Improvement to buy a bale of hay to help keep my rabbits warm. I set off for Lowes and in the timespan that it took me to leave my house and arrive at Lowes (1.5 miles away) the roads went from drive-able to snowy and fishtail-inducing. Almost had an accident on the way there because my truck started sliding.
I buy my hay and head for home. Almost had an accident in the parking lot because some goof tries to rush out in front of me (annoying in good weather,
really bad idea in this kind of weather) Can barely get up the hill leading to the main road to get to my house. Driving slow as can be, people fish-tailing, accidents happening all around me already.
Get really close to my house, think I'm home free. Start heading down the hill to my house, and my truck starts sliding against my will into the PT Cruiser in front of me. I tap the back end of it, just barely, but manage to get my vehicle stopped. Think, "coulda been worse, no big deal". Get out of my truck intending to exchange information, PT Cruiser driver yells at me, "Watch out for the car!!" Have to scurry to the opposite side of the road to avoid getting run over. Another vehicle rear-ends mine, then another vehicle side-swipes mine, leaving a huge scratch down the driver's side, tearing up my driver's side mirror, and pushing my truck up onto the curb over somebody's mailbox. :angry: PT Cruiser driver drives off, slides into somebody else's vehicle further down the hill. Cluster***k is the best word to describe it. Called the police, they said there were so many accidents going on at the time that if nobody was hurt we should all just exchange information and file a report later.
Exchange information with Mr. Side-Swiper as frantically as I can, snow falling down getting wet on my paper making the ink blurry, check the back of my truck for damage and don't bother exchanging information with Mr. Rear-Ender because I couldn't see any damage, go talk to the nice lady in the house whose mailbox I knocked over and give her my information and phone number. Super sweet retired lady in her 80s. She also gave me a nice toboggan because she saw how cold I was.
Mr. Side-swiper and I both decide to leave our vehicles where they are because everything is just a mess and both of us can walk to our destinations. Get lucky and find a pair of gloves in my glove compartment (doh!). Remember that damn bale of hay in the back of my truck. :mmph: Realize there's really no other option than to carry it home through the neighborhood, looking like a damn fool hefting a bale of hay through a city neighborhood in a snowstorm. Meet up with Mrs. PT Cruiser as I'm walking, offer to exchange information, she declines because there was no damage to her vehicle. :dance: She too was close enough to walk to her destination. I guess it's a blessing we were all so close to where we had to be, but on the other hand, if I had made it just
one more block I would have been home safe!!
Finally make it home with my bale of hay, have to walk up the huge hill that my house is on, and throw it in the shed. All wound up now. Make myself some lunch and pace around the house. Suddenly terrified to go outside in case I slip and fall and knock myself unconscious and freeze to death, so I wait for my roommates to get home before I go outside and feed my rabbits. Finally able to give them each their pad of hay. It wasn't worth it.
When the torrent of snow lets up a little, walk back with my roommates to retrieve my vehicle. Nice lady's mailbox is not actually damaged, just the post that it was attached to. We already have a post-hole-digger so we're gonna go put it back up for her when the weather is better. It'll cost us about 12 dollars as opposed to hiring someone which would cost over $100 probably.
Have I mentioned that I
HATE snow?? I am hoping will all my heart that this winter has just been a fluke and that it's not gonna continue to get worse with subsequent years. But either way, the South needs to start getting better prepared for this kind of thing, and I need some better tires.
If anyone is buying a vehicle anytime soon, go ahead and get 4-wheel-drive or whatever the hell kind of vehicles handles this weather well. If this winter is any kind of foreshadowing for the future, nothing else will do.