So everyone has heard about the ice storm that has swept the nation. Well, my town was not exempt from the icy chaos. Work was cancelled one day, but the day it was worst we has a late start. So the adventure began with me calling our weather hot line at 6am to see what time we would be opening. The freeing feeling that comes from finding out work doesn't start until 10am cannot be described in words. The sheer joy of rolling over and knowing you can sleep an extra two hours is probably one of the best feelings ever.
Anyway, it ended up being pushed back again until noon, so my roommates and I bundled up and watched the Chronicles of Narnia. The warmth that Aslan brought to Narnia gave me hope that one day feeling would return to my toes. So after putting on my 7 layers I finally had to leave the semi-warmth of the apartment and brave the tundra.
Well, I almost died. A guy in a slick, black Lexus with vanity plates decided to pass me. I was driving cautiously at 35mph where the speed limit was 70 because I was fishtailing all over the place. We were the only 2 cars on the road. He got past me and began to spin. Instinctively I slammed on the breaks (I know, I know the absolute worst thing to do in ice), but if I hadn't I would have slammed into him. Then he flies off the side of the road into the ditch. My car finally stops perpendicular to the highway. I was able to pull off onto the shoulder to check on the guy who drove off the road. The Lexus drives back on to the road and honks as he goes by to let me know he's OK. "I'm glad you're fine, sir who was driving to fast, but my hands are still shaking, thanks for asking." So, I'm closer to work than I am to my house so I carefully drive on. I was one of maybe 10 people in the building. Slowly our number climbed, but we topped out at 50 (we have 250 in our building normally).
The ice adventure stories began to trickle in. One employee was in a ditch and the "big boss" who is from New England (he was calling everyone wusses for complaining about the ice) decided he would go get her out. Then they told him which employee it was and he said maybe he should wait a little while. I think you have to know the person to really appreciate the hilarity of that statement. He decided that he had to go get her, and he was able to get her out.
Next we found out our HR lady had attempted the to make the hour and a half commute to work in the ice and wrecked her Z3. This car was her baby, her birthday present to herself. So the "big boss" decided he was going to go rescue her too. I asked him if he had a hero complex. My coworkers laughed uncomfortably not sure if the boss would find this funny too. I told him I was trying to break down barriers, but he said I was asking to not ever get promoted. He was kidding, I hope.
You won't believe the nerve of this state trooper. The HR lady asked the State Trooper, who stopped to check on her, to write an incident report for her insurance. He said he would also have to give her a citation if he wrote up an incident report, or else she'd have to do it herself. She asked him for what the citation would be for. He said that she must have been going too fast to spin off the road. She swears she was going 40 in a 70. Immediately after this, a little, old lady in a minivan going 35 hit the same patch of ice and slid off the road about 50 feet ahead. The trooper speeds off to go check on her and does the exact same thing. Talk about dumb.
So yeah, I think that was all the really exciting stories. Fortunately, no one was hurt. But Texans don't know how to drive on ice. Well, I guess I can't talk. I lived the majority of my life on the equator, then lived in Southern California, and finally Texas. So yep that was ice escapades or ice capades so to speak
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