Ummm....

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm still alive.

I've got 18 draft posts all loaded with pictures and just waiting for stories.

But...well...real life has been tough lately.

So I'll get some things posted eventually...ish. 

- HistoryDiva

Typical Wednesday Morning Misadventure

So…yesterday I survived the “Scariest Sneeze in the History of the World.” 

Seriously. 

Stop laughing!  I could have died!! 

My commute to and from the office involves both heavily trafficked main drags and a few curvy back roads.  One particular stretch of curvy back road includes a slightly narrow bridge which, when crossed in tandem with an oversized pickup truck or SUV, can be a bit harrowing.  

Yesterday morning I was tooling along, one hand on the steering wheel, the other wrapped around my coffee, when I realized that I was going to sneeze.  

Now, a sneeze isn’t a big deal…but when you are behind the wheel of your car a sneeze becomes a little bit more perilous.  

I also happened to be approaching the narrow bridge…and noticed that a massively oversized pickup truck was coming toward me in the other lane. 

And I sneezed. 

And in that fraction of a millisecond as your eyes close when sneezing something else happened that made this moment even more concerning…

 

BOOM!

Bambi’s mom darted across the road right in front of my car and the oncoming pickup truck!! 

 

Sneeze over I jerked my eyes open to find that: 

 

Bambi’s mom would live to graze another day 

Gargantuan pickup truck had passed me without issue 

I was still in my lane and moving at speed 

 

But most importantly…I hadn’t spilled my coffee.

 

- HistoryDiva

*blows cobwebs off blog*

So...I really need to post an update.

And I'll totally do that.

Soon...ish.

- HistoryDiva

Remains of the Day

Remember kids, VD burns.

Snowmagedon 2: The Adventure Continues

So I would just like it noted, for the sake of posterity, that as far as snow and ice and winter weather in general goes...I'm not a fan.

On Monday, pre-Winter Storm Pax, the young son of one of my coworkers was spending the afternoon in our office after a doctor's visit and overheard us complaining about the logistics of preparing for a hotel stay due to the coming snow.

"But...snow is AWESOME," he exclaimed with the wide eyed innocence of youth.  "Why would you be unhappy about snow??"

"Well, sweetie," I explained in my best cool-grown-up-who-isn't-your-parent-and-might-have-cookies-in-their-desk voice, "snow is fun when you're a kid...but when you're a grown-up, snow really isn't fun."

"But, but why?"

"Oh sweetie....so many reasons."

*****



The storm hit with full force during the over night hours of Tuesday.  The wind picked up and the cold rain we'd been getting on and off throughout the day turned into a mix of sleet and snow.  Opening my door on Wednesday morning to head over to breakfast I was greeted by a wall of sideways blowing snow and the prospect of a potentially dangerous shuffle across the icy parking lot of the hotel.

Once we'd eaten our hotel waffles (not that great btw, the batter is...weird), we piled into one vehicle and set out toward the office at a slow crawl.  We waved at the ABC News affiliate van as we crept past and crunched through the fresh snow into the work parking lot.

The work day rolled along as it usually does...there were just fewer of us to handle everything.  Around lunch time I wandered outside to take a picture of the square covered in snow...

...and forgot that the building was locked and that I hadn't thought to grab my key because OF COURSE I didn't.  Thank goodness I was taking pictures with my cellphone so I was able to call someone to let me back in.

The weather got progressively worse throughout the work day, sleet continued to fall adding a thick crust of ice to the snow which took the roads from 'extremely cautiously passable' to 'get your crazy butt off the road.'

A fellow coworker (another of the hearty six I mentioned yesterday) took pity on us and offered us a lift back over to our hotel in his 4-wheel-drive vehicle provided that we were ready to roll out by 3:00PM at the latest. 

Now...our workday doesn't end until 5:00PM.

And we were not authorized to close the office early.

So...

...we improvised.  

 

We wrangled a laptop from the lone IT guy, installed the chat app onto our cellphones and tablets, had the phones forwarded to our cellphones, and booked it back to our hotel.  And ran the company from out of a hotel room for about two hours.

 

Man...the lengths you'll go to for a paycheck.

 

Once we were done with our work day we shut everything down and just kind of collapsed into three exhausted heaps who sat around staring at each other for twenty minutes or so because we were simply too tired to move.  

 The view from my hotel room, looking right.

 And the view looking left.

 

There are four hospital employees sharing a room in the hotel with us (met them this morning at breakfast) who were attempting to get into work for their overnight shift around dinner time yesterday.  They got stuck halfway across the street and then slid backwards into the parking lot, fortunately the local PD showed up to help them out and the ladies got a lift into work in the squad car.

- HistoryDiva

Snowmagedon 2: The Electric Boogaloo

Hello boys and girls! 

As I'm sure you're aware the deep South is currently being buried under mountains of white stuff by Winter Storm Pax.  Which is weird and uncharacteristic of our normal winter weather.   

But this time we are prepared.

All the major roads are empty because everyone actually took the advice of our officials and stayed home, which is great.

Unless you HAVE to be at work.

Like I do.

So I'm 'stay-cationing' at a local motel near the office with four of my fellow coworkers (we just discovered this morning that a lone IT guy is there as well).  

My comfy, cozy room. 

 

It isn't a five star situation but hey, it's warm.

The view from the office lobby this morning.

We heard on the news that they are declaring a 'white out' in our area...which I believe.  We struggled into work through driving snow which is covering a layer of slush making travel a serious challenge...which is why there were only six stalwart employees in the entire building.

The view from our office...and that'd be my car on the right.

 

So it looks like we'll be bunking over at the motel for at least two more days until the storm blows through and things thaw/melt enough for us to safely get home.

 

- HistoryDiva