Snowmageddon 2011: The Holy Sh!t Edition

[the_other_sandy]

My car was so much worse than I thought. I couldn't even get to it. The snow was four feet high for five feet in any given direction. Fortunately for me, two of my neighbors had just finished digging out their cars and their third roommate had gone inside, so I borrowed their extra shovel and the three of us managed to dig to my trunk so I could get out my own shovel. Then one of the young ladies called the management office on her cell phone to ask for help. Another neighbor also offered to help, and it took the four of us digging in shifts to clear a one and a half foot wide path around my car. That was when we discovered that my undercarriage was completely packed with snow and ice, which required more digging.

When building maintenance showed up to help, they brought a bulldozer. I kid you not. It took four people and a bulldozer an hour and a half to dig out my car (although things went pretty quickly after the bulldozer showed up). Every single person who helped or just passed by said my car was the worst they'd seen.

I had kind of planned to go out to dinner tonight because I need red meat after this and don't have any in the house, but they can have my parking spot over my dead body. I'm sure somebody around here will deliver red meat to me.

On the plus side, I am a Midwestern girl and have the appropriate clothes for the weather, so even though the wind chill was in the negative numbers and I slipped and fell in the snow about half a dozen times until there was as much snow on me as there was on my car, I never really got cold.

I also have to say how grateful I am to my neighbors for stepping in. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't even have been able to make it to my trunk yet. Every single person who pitched in to help me was someone I've never met before.

Comments

[seesmooshrun.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, Sandy! The one problem with city living is having to park on the street and dig out your car in the winter. Sounds like you REALLY needed the help. I'm glad you got dug out but i certainly understand the reluctance to ever leave again! Make yourself a hot drink and wait for that red meat to show up. I'm betting you need a nap and a hot soak tonight. Thinking of you! ::hugs someplace not too sore::

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

That's the thing--I was parked in the middle of my building's lot. You'd think my car would have been protected on three sides by the other cars, but instead it seemed to form a catch-all that funneled the snow in. I am just so, so grateful to everyone who helped. Without them, I would've been stuck here until the spring thaw.

[seesmooshrun.livejournal.com]

Oh, seriously? In a lot surrounded by cars? Wow. That was one freaky-ass wind that day, maybe that was it. Sorry that was so much work. Find yourself a great reward and get some rest! :)

[libra-traveller.livejournal.com]

Jeeze I am so not jealous of all that snow you got. Poor girl. I on the other hand was supposed to get freezing rain... we just got rain. So I'm happy go lucky, that rain even washed away most of the previous snow we got. Don't throw any ice packed snow balls my way, I have enough bruises from stupidly falling down the stairs *inside* my house.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

But we've run out of places to put snow around here. You sure we can't store some over by you?

I'm sorry to hear about your fall. The one good thing about all the snow was that there was plenty to cushion my fall every time I slipped while shoveling. I haven't been buried up to my hips in snow since I was 10 years old.

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

Crud. I'm glad you were able to extract your car and that so many people helped! Have you managed to warm up and get your red meat yet? There's nothing quite like warm, dry clothes and a chunk of dead cow to make you feel better.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

Never did get my red meat. I think I'll do that tomorrow. There's a steakhouse about 5 minutes away that does carry-out orders. I did, however, take a very long, very hot shower, which was lovely.

[zanne68.livejournal.com]

Yikes! That is some serious snowing in. I hope you found someone to bring you red meat--I'd want a burger or steak or something after a workout like that.

If there's an upside to winter weather, it's that people always seem to come together to help each other out. That said, Mother Nature can cut it out with this crap anytime now.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I never did get my red meat. That's going to be a high priority item for tomorrow. I did, however, get a very long, very hot shower, which helped make up for it.

[samazon13.livejournal.com]

Holy crap! Although I don't miss the snow, I sure do miss that sense of camaraderie that it engenders. When something like this brings everyone low, it's so heartening to see that folks understand we are all in this together.

Hope you get that red meat soon. I'm down with the flu and I'm having the same craving. We both need some minerals, stat!

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

I was really happy for the help. I hadn't expected that at all. I don't have any family in the area and my closest friends are half an hour away, so I'm usually on my own for stuff.

[oddlyspoken.livejournal.com]

Modern clothing materials are fabulous aren't they?

So cool to hear about the wonderfully helpful passersby. Yay for car liberation.

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

My polar fleece balaclava is turning out to be the best impulse buy I've ever made. It looks dorky as hell, but boy is it warm.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

nothing worse than digging out cars... best way is dig for a while, then get coffee/chocolate, dig, coffee break, dig, coffee break. yours is the second report i've heard of neighbors pitching in to help!

[the-other-sandy.livejournal.com]

That's definitely the best way, but it's hard to do when you live on the third floor of a walk-up and your car is half of an enormous parking lot away. Walking to my apartment and back just doesn't seem worth the effort. I mostly shoveled for a bit, then stopped and chatted with the neighbors for a bit.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Ah, that's when you bring a thermos of hot chocolate/coffee out with you and once you get to car, sit in and drink some. ;)