Oh, February!

Hi everyone, I do apologize for the scarce posts: I've actually been working 40-hr weeks this past month, and now that God has given us a few days of forced rest via snow/sleet/ice here in good ole Texas, I have time to write once more! Oh happy day!


First thing first, who's in the mood for a nice, weather-related summary of these last couple of days? I'm sure you all are. Really.


Ice-In Part I: Chips, Chips, and More Chips


Well, this day (Tuesday) actually got an early start. Like, rather early: I was awoken by tons and tons of tiny but sharp-sounding ice pellets. Oh, and my bedroom window has this weird green, tarp-y shade (that is much appreciated in the summer), and when there are strong gusts of cold air, that tarp-y shade loves to obnoxiously flap super loudly. It literally sounds like someone is beating against the wall. Anyway, this was at about 3 in the morning, and I somehow managed to go back to sleep.
Woke up (for real) a couple of hours later, and looked out the window. Some portions looked a little wet, but everything else on the parking lot looked peculiarly dry. For a split second I thought, "Is that ice?...nah, of course it couldn't be...right?"


To overcome any doubt, I headed straight for the news. Sure enough, the local weatherman confirmed my split second thought; why yes, that peculiarly dry parking lot was actually covered with a nice thick blanket of ice. Yes, ice. Not snow, well, maybe just a tiny bit of snow, but the majority was ice. And the snow was quickly transforming into ice. Anyway, because of the difficulty of even getting out of the parking lot, I had to call in and miss work.


My mother and sister also stayed home. So what did we do all day?

1. had some hot chocolate (Abuelita-style) with mini croissants;
2. sat on the couch;
3. had some potato chips;
4. watched "Bloody Murder" - a rip-off of the Friday the 13th movies, and even though it was corny and kind of confusing, it was actually worth the viewing;
5. had some more potato chips, with Tabasco;
6. got up and stretched for like a second so we could sit on the couch again;
7. watched "Nanny McPhee Returns" (a movie, which, was worthwhile too, considering our housed-in status);
8. ate chips again, all while flipping channels between "Zoolander," "Arthur," and "That 70s Show;"
9. moved around again, realized I still had my penguin blanket with me, watched the news;
10. lounged around some more;
11. had dinner;
12. aimlessly let my mind wander, while sitting on the couch.

I imagine what we did yesterday (Part I) is what it feels like to be a cat. I was however grateful that I got a chance to relax and recuperate from non-stop working. We went to sleep at half-past ten, thinking that we'd return to work and regular routine stuff once more.


Yeah, only not.


Ice-In Part II: We've Got Cabin Fever


Woke up at 5:30, stayed in bed until 6, everything outside was oddly serene. Could it be that I could go to work after all? Uh, no. The ice, in fact, had worsened the road, and since my "neighborhood" is in a still-isolated area, not many cars have driven by to run down the ice and junk. This time, though, I said, "Let's be productive today, we can't lounge around all day long!" Tell me if we succeeded:

1. had some coffee and cornbread muffins;
2. made my bed and cleaned the surrounding area of my room;
3. getting all ready (alternate clothing since I ended up not going to work) and stuff;
4. then...my mother accidentally turned on the television to CSI;
5. watched CSI for about three hours (we would've kept watching, CSI: New York, interrupted the flow of the previous CSI episodes;
6. had some popcorn and oranges (no chips left in the house!);
7. changed it back to CSI (it came back on);
8. had my sister braid my hair, while watching "My Bloody Valentine;"
9. finally decided to venture outside, to the apartment office: longest thirty minutes of my life, so much ice on the sidewalk paths and so much frozen dog poop on the frozen grass;
10. found out my sister was accepted to one of her choice universities;
11. had cereal for dinner;
12. writing this blog...

Anyway, I haven't touched my car all this time. I hope it hasn't frozen shut, you know! Hopefully conditions improve, because we're all tired of being stuck inside. The plan for tomorrow is to try to all drive together to my work, but if that doesn't work, we might have to resort to walking to the nearest grocery store for supplies! Oh what an adventure that will be, I'm sure.


So now that I've taken up your time with my confinement tale, how's the weather treating you, eh??