48 hours ago...
Enter first customer of the day. Nice older gentleman. Ask what are his plans for the weekend. "Lots of shoveling!" Confused look on my face. "We're supposed to get snow?" Bewildered look on his face, "They're saying 8-12 inches!" Very, very disheartened look on my face. My first customer has ruined my day.
Conversation the rest of the day centers around the certain snowfall we're in for. Speculations include when it will start, how much we will really get, and why we still live in Minnesota. Customers say, "Hope it isn't as bad as they say it is!" I respond, "Hope we don't get any at all!"
Famous last words.
Go out for a free dinner after work with best friend, coworker, individual living in the apartment directly above mine (Aubrey) and coworker Adam. Have sparkling conversation, good food, and enjoyable flirting session with waiter and other employee. Told by Aubrey that I'm leaving my number for one of them. So be it.
Leave restaurant around 9:45 pm CST on Friday, December 9, 2010. First snowflake witnessed as I pull my car into its little home. Smile wide that I won't have to brush off my car. Heeheehee.
Asleep by 11 pm. Prepared to wake up 40 minutes early to account for difficult driving conditions; however, I hold the general belief that the snowfall won't be nearly as bad as predicted.
Sweet dreams.
Satuday, December 11, 2010, 5:44 am CST. Pickles steps on my throat as way of saying "good morning." She loves me, I'm sure of it.
Rush to window. Snow has fallen and is still falling. However, the apartment complex is plowed and I am generally unimpressed. Prepare Pax with two bowls of food just in case, two bowls of water, and water in the face as she tries to climb up the Christmas tree, again. I take my laundry to my car with plans to head over to Mom's after work to get it done, study materials to look over while doing laundry (finals start next week! :/), shoes to change into, and playing cards (just in case we're dead at work).
No trouble whatsoever getting to work. Still snowing.
7:25 am go to enter bank. Wind blows my door shut, hat off and hood down. Swear at the wind. Get snow blown in my face. Round 1 goes to wind.
Five cars use the autobank between 8 and 9 am. Only two were personal, the rest were business customers. The snow is blowing and coming down in such a way that we can't see the restaurant directly next door to us.
Everyone else scheduled arrives on time and safe. Surprised as lesser conditions happened two weeks ago and half the staff called out. Hmmmm.
The snow worsens and worsens as the day progresses. Properties does not return to plow our parking lot or drive thru. Two of the bankers and the branch manager have to help push a car out of parking lot. As they do so, a big bad four wheel drive truck decides to pull in at the exact same time. They all regard him incredulously. He gets stuck. They walk away from him. Wells Fargo 1, Jerks 0.
Two tellers and bankers are allowed to leave at 1 pm. Branch closes for the day in t-minus 1 hour. Call mom. Plows have been pulled off the road because of white-out conditions. Am told to go over to the mall and sit tight. Begin to panic. Will be stranded there all day if I don't get home. Aubrey and I decide to go it together and leave her car there since there was no way we were getting it out of its spot. Sorry mom.
Get stuck trying to get out of parking spot. Josh, Dirk, and Adam come to help get us out. Finally get out and start following the plowed mall route for safest drive. Aubrey thinks it best to go CR 5 home.
Famous last words.
County Road 5, just like all the other roads, has had nothing done to it. We decide to get back on 42 and take it down to 77. Can't slow down or stop. Start turn onto 42, slam on breaks, fishtail to straighten out. Badass maneuver.
Turn to 42 coming up, start veering to the right and gunning it. Gun it straight into an impassable, ridiculous 3 foot high snowbank that the plows have either built up or just ignored. Stuck.
...
Two teenage boys hope out of car with snow shovels to help. Just trying to back out to take the turn at the intersection. Ready to have a meltdown. Why don't I ever heed my mother's advice?
Slow going getting out. Watch as UHaul pulls to the side of my car in distress. Four Mexicans run towards my car. Thank God I attract Mexicans. Car is out just 5 minutes after their arrival.
Am too distressed and frazzled to drive. Aubrey takes the wheel. Cannot stop. Hold breath at intersections. Hate four wheel drive cars that act like nothing is wrong. Secretly smile as they spin out. Karma.
Visibility was no more than 10 feet in front of us. Absolutely the most nerve-wrecking drive ever, and I wasn't even driving. God bless Aubrey. She was driving and trying to make me laugh as I was heading straight into a panic attack snowbank.
An hour, two near death calls, and a case of hyperventilating later, we pull into the apartment complex unscathed. It, like our parking lot at work, had not been touched since 6 am. Thank God I picked up a snow shovel a few weeks back. Finally get car backed into garage, though have to climb out passenger door as the car is really far over to one side.
Officially snowed in.
To be continued...
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