“I had my yearly snow intake. time for spring.”
It was the first red alert in years for the UK. The ‘Beast From The East’ as the snow blizzard was referred to, was indeed a bad one. Of all the regions, Scotland was hit hardest. It knocked out the nation cold for almost an entire week. There was no escaping from it, by no one I don't think.
That morning - hours before the weather turned into a national snow blizzard - I went to work like it was any other day. So far, so good. It wouldn’t stay that way. That morning snowflakes just kept coming and coming, covering the world in white instantly. At the office, we knew getting home would be a bit challenging, but looking back on it, we all left the office way too late. I certainly was a bit naive to think I could find my way home without any issues. It would be no biggy, I thought.
Snow jam
Boy, did I learn my lesson. The first challenge was getting out of the car park. With the mental support of colleagues, I was able to get out. It was time to hit the (serious) road. The first ten minutes I felt confident. The fact I drove five miles per hour was not at all an issue, as long as I was moving forward. Then it happened: my car got stuck halfway the route. On a hill just outside of the city.
I wasn’t the only one. Many cars around me were also spinning. I realised I was not making any progress. I had to abandon the car, right after I parked the car somewhat on the side of the road. With this weather no guarantees, but where I parked the car seemed to be safe: unharmed by traffic and no meters to add parking tickets to my profound collection. A colleague who was driving a snow proof car and wanted to make sure I got home safe, drove me home. In my third week in, an interesting way to get to know new colleagues.
I had friends coming over from Holland. I was looking forward to some 'goofing around' time with old mates, catching up and stuff. Unfortunately, their flight got cancelled due to the blizzard. One of the many flights as it turned out. The Edinburgh Airport was closed for days. Road were blocked and Scotland couldn’t even be reached by train. People were advised not to be on the road, travel as minimal as possible. All duped by Mother Nature.
Homebound
The rest of the week, leaving the house by car, bike, or public transportation for that matter, was not an option. It was all going to be on foot. Back to basic. Kids were off school, universities were closed, stores were shut and pubs and restaurants had limited opening hours. It was a surreal occurrence, mainly because of the duration.
As for work, I would be homebound for the next few days. I don’t know how people can work from home. Yes, there is less distraction; there is more flexibility when to work and when to be offline; and there is no rush hour traffic to waste your time or energy on, but generally I am not a fan. Despite the many Skype calls, I started to miss real life, social interaction with co-workers. It felt like the walls were closing in on me by the day. Remind me never to take a home office job. It’s not for me.
Car CPR
A few days later I went back to retrieve the car. The only way to bring the car back to life, was to attack it with a broom and a big shovel. It took me 45 minutes to get rid of all the snow surrounding it, to 'unsnow' the not snow friendly car. It was one of those things that had to happen. There is nothing wrong with a bit of manual labour from time to time. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to make it to my house safely.
Home office
After the fourth day working from home, I was determined to make it to the office. I left the house happily and was excited to go to work, but I would never reach the office. I got stuck in traffic halfway the route as two major accidents were reported further down the road. Ironically, close to where I had to abandon my car before. I was at a standstill for at least half an hour. There was no other choice but to go back and add another home day to the calendar. What can you do?
Reaching limits
Many people admire my positive attitude towards winter and cold, but enough is enough. The Beast From The East didn’t help, but it was during a hockey practice mid-March when I finally caved. I was waiting for the ball to play; my hands were very cold and never seemed to not warm up. I was officially fed up with winter, right there and then. I had my snow intake for the year. It was time for spring.
If only...
We just passed Easter Weekend and here snow is falling from the sky yet again. This morning I was driving through snow (the drippy snow kind luckily). Climate change with Mother Nature in the lead, leaving us as mere spectators. Or has it something to do with me? Barely two months ago I had my flight cancelled due to a Red Alert in The Netherlands. I’m about to go on a new trip to North America, let’s hope nobody pushes the Red Alert button this weekend or in any of my weeks there 😊