SNOW DAY! ...and the misadventures of Mrs. B.

whoo! well it might have come later than usual, but i'm pretty sure the volume of London's first snow dump this year has more than made up for its tardiness. this is what the gazebo in our courtyard looks like today, with about a foot and a half of snow sitting on top of the roof: now, at 5:30 this morning when i was getting ready to go to work at 6, it was still dark outside and i couldn't really tell just how snowy it was out. so, ever the dedicated employee, i set out in the Sentra (with its two spanking new front tires for just such an occasion), assuming that the City of London would surely be well-prepared and that roads would be ploughed and salted. as i exited the parking garage and the snowdrifts rose up on either side of the car with only two wheel-ruts to show me where the roadway was, i chuckled to myself and thought, 'this could be quite the adventure...' there had clearly been a few cars that had ventured out before me and i followed their tracks carefully out of the driveway and down Proudfoot Lane to the main drag of Oxford Street. when the van ahead of me had to spin out and fishtail before finally turning left, i knew it was going to be a bit sketchy, but i managed a reasonably controlled turn onto Oxford and pressed on. it had clearly been ploughed but not salted, and those of us braving the roads had to make an educated guess at where the lines lay beneath the remaining thin layer of snow. i tootled along at a comfortable pace for the several blocks to St. George Street, where i usually turn left to get to the restaurant. it was difficult to see the state of things at the roadhead, but i figured the conditions on St. George would be much like they had been on Proudfoot- not clear by any means, but driveable. sadly, once i made the turn i learned differently. no wheel-ruts appeared to guide me, but rather a knee-high snowdrift into which i promptly ploughed, desperately hoping that the all-powerful Sentra might be able to make it through by some miracle. i could see wheel-ruts beyond, but immediately the car's wheels began to spin and my heart sank. here i was, stuck nose-in with my back end still sticking out into the outside lane of Oxford St. and no idea how to get out.

i got out of the car and stepped into the snowdrift, my ankle-high boots immediately filling up with snow, and walked around the front of the car to assess the severity of the situation. my two front wheels were essentially submerged, and i tried to little avail to kick some of the snow out from around them before looking up to see a most welcome sight- a shadowy figure was making its way up St. George with the distinct shape of a snow-shovel in its hand! as he got closer he said, 'hello,' and i replied, 'it looks like you have just what i need... and it also looks like i probably shouldn't have tried to turn in here.' the young man was wearing camouflage military fatigues and a bright orange vest and hat- presumably this was his job, digging unfortunate and underprepared motorists like me out of snowdrifts. within a few minutes, he had dug the wheels out and backed the Sentra out of the drift and back onto Oxford, and i was headed back the way i came. i promptly returned home and upon entering the dry underground parkade after performing some fishtailing of my own on my way into the driveway, uttered a 'Hallelujah' and resolved to stay put for the rest of the day. luckily it seems that most of the city has decided to do the same, so i'm not needed at work anyway! Matt's last day of classes has been canceled, as the entire campus of Western as well as all of its affiliated colleges are closed due to the heavy snowfall. according to my boss, he hasn't seen a dump of snow like this in 15 years! so, contrary to all our expectations, here we are in Ontario and we're having a SNOW DAY!!!! what fun!