Back to work today. Looks like things are slowly getting back to normal, though the roads are still a mess with giant piles of snow. I’m hoping the sun will help melt some of it over the week so I can get outside to run this weekend. I’ve got a ten mile run scheduled in my half-marathon preparation and I absolutely do not want to have to do it inside!
I realized over this storm that I could have been better prepared for the weather. Oh, I didn’t suffer at all. But after listening to some coworkers talking, I realize that there are few things I should have in my snowstorm arsenal.
First off, I need a snow shovel. No, I don’t have one. I live in an apartment. I have nothing to shovel. Unless I want to get my car out of the parking lot. I used to have one, but I got rid of it when I moved. I had friends who used baking trays and cutting boards and milk crates to dig out their cars. Clearly, we all could have used a shovel or two.
Second, I need better snow boots. I have a pair of sub-standard rain boots and a pair of warm winter boots, but the rain boots are not warm, nor are they particularly comfortable, and the winter boots are not waterproof enough (as I learned when my feet got wet from a slushy puddle). I found a great pair of boots in a catalog, boots designed for either rain or snow (lots of room for extra socks and tucking in pants when necessary). The problem? They’re $80. Compared to my current $20 boots, that’s a bit much to spend. However, the $20 boots clearly aren’t doing their job. So it’s something to ponder.
Third, when trapped at home, I need to be more productive. I think it was because I was fighting a cold, but I was such a sloth over the past week. There was so much more I could have accomplished. Instead I accomplished things like watching Netflix discs and clearing off the DVR. At least I didn’t spend the week shopping online. That could have been dangerous.
Really though, I did a lot of things right. I had plenty of candles and batteries for my flashlight. I had lots of food stocked up, including food I could eat if the power went out (lots of canned soups that could be heated on the gas stove). I had water and when the storm was coming, I made sure that all my pitchers were full. I had books to read and other things to occupy my time.
So just a few changes to make and I’ll be ready for the next historic storm. I just hope it waits for next season.
All of those things would be good to have in the future, but I think this winter was an anomaly and it might not be necessary to spend the money. Personally, my polka-dotted rain boots and some heavy socks did the job just fine. And I also think that watching movies and things on the dvr is VERY productive. It’s just like crossing things off of a list. And when you cross things off of a list it means you are being productive.