Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Snow melts, you know. Now imagine what two feet of snow turns into: A big ol' mess.

This morning, I had a Alexander kind of morning. You know Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? It was the kind of morning where not even the sweet nectar of the Gods could help.

We woke up to this:



While the sound of rushing water is soothing, the roaring sound not so much. And the thought of the creek overflowing it's banks not so much. In this picture, taken about 7:30 in the morning in the POURING RAIN, everything that is not white or black is water. What appears green = water.

Kevin, bless his heart, had to get bloodwork done this morning. (No worries, it's normal. It has to be done every six months) He left late which messes up *my* morning. Now the fun thing about ADD is the need for structure and schedule. Now my schedule is off and I'm grouchy....and it just occurred to me, six hours later that I forgot to eat breakfast. Great.

The Mustang wouldn't start....of course not. Now Kevin had to take my truck. Great.
This leaves me with the super-huge truck. No, seriously. 4x4, Crew Cab, longbed, dually. It's a monster. And it's still kind of buried in the snow. And everything is damp because it's been sitting unused.

I persevered. I muttered but I persevered.

Of COURSE the gas tank(s) were empty. Luckily, the gas station is one mile away and so is my beloved mocha stand.

I begin putting gas into the truck...the one that I can't get to go into two-wheel drive instead of four...and notice &*#$%!!!! the front tire is low. SIGH..............

I call Kevin...no answer
I look at the air station ten feet away. 75 cents for freaking air. AIR, the stuff that's oh, Everywhere.
I call Kevin...no answer.

I finish pumping gas and go get my mocha, dammit. I momentarily obsess about 75 cents for freakin' AIR.

Mocha in hand, finally in two-wheel drive...I had to use my foot and push on the shifter. NICE.
Kevin calls back. He's just as happy as I am that I have a flat.

Back home I go to air up the tire. Can I get close to the shop & compressor...ummm, NO. There is still a snowbank in the way.

Luckily we have an air tank and luckily my father-in-law who Loves to be a hero lives next door.
40 lbs of air...for FREE, I might add...I am back on the road.

Pouring down rain...have I mentioned that I'm wet? No? Oh, yes the Genius that I am didn't put on my hooded coat until I got back to the house to put air in the tire.

At this point, I'm calling Do-Over. Give me a mulligan. But after just having three weeks off from work, that wasn't a wise request.

There's water across the roadway everywhere and still snow piled up on the sides of the road, making the lanes narrow, which is fun in the world's largest truck.
Finally, I get on the freeway and it's bucketing down rain. Water is across the freeway in numerous places and the "waterfalls" (creeks created by run-off) are pouring off the hills. People are either a) doing 150 mph because they have an SUV and those are apparently indestructible...hahhaha or they're doing 45 mph and everyone is swooping around them. I wish I could have gotten pictures but that would have just been stupid.

Now, I park about a block from my work. It's a large, usually empty parking lot. I do this for two reasons: exercise and working in social services, if anyone is ever going to get a vehicle keyed, it's going to be me. Parking in this lot today is a necessity as I have the big damn truck. And guess what? It's nearly full. Of Course It Is. Why Wouldn't It Be?

Luckily for me there is a space available...or actually two because the truck won't fit in just one. So I wedge it in there and walk, this time with my hood on, the one block to work and resist the urge to emphatically stomp in the puddles.