white-out

Nightmare. The drive home yesterday was nothing but a nightmare, with large pockets of white-out blowing snow, where the only way I could tell if there was a vehicle in front of me was by noticing that the snow ahead seemed denser and grayer. Some drivers were going around with no lights on, but even those of us who had the sense to turn on our lights probably couldn't be seen. The snow covered over the headlights, in the first place, but it was so heavy that a lighthouse beacon wouldn't have been visible through it. I white-knuckled my steering wheel the whole way. The part in town was especially harrowing. Nothing frightens me more than being sandwiched among the big rigs. It took an extra half hour to get home, and when I finally made it, I was exhausted.

The morning drive wasn't too bad once I got onto the highway, but the street I drive for several miles just to get to the highway was as slick as glass. The local tv stations are reporting that the counties are running out of salt and sand, and of course, county budgets being tight, they don't send the plows everywhere, just the main arteries. The temperatures were so cold (it didn't get higher than 14 degrees all day yesterday) that the salt wouldn't work. (It has to be above 15 degrees, for those of you who haven't lived in the frozen tundra before.)

Anyway, once again, I feel as if I have escaped from the jaws of death. It's going to be a long winter, so it had better be a glorious summer.

On Monday I have my all-day campus interview. At work yesterday I cornered the department chair and got an itinerary from her. She was crowing about the room I'll have at the Bed and Breakfast--"It's the big one, with the clawfoot tub!"--and doubtless, I'll love it, but I haven't taken a tub bath in decades. Unless I can stand in that clawfoot tub and get a shower, I'm not going to enjoy the room very much. Besides, I'll be too nervous to think about it. At ten a.m. on Monday, I'll do a teaching presentation. Then after that it's a matter of meeting people and talking to them. She did say at one point that I'd be asked to show what I knew about teaching using computers. Mental scream of anguish.

Back to the computer after being away for a few minutes: The funniest, most ironic thing just happened. A sand truck got stuck in the snow on the street beside my house. I kept hearing this engine revving noise, and when I looked, I saw what had happened. Cars kept going past the poor mired behemoth, so apparently they didn't need the sand. And what good the sand would do on top of a foot of snow in the street, I don't know. At least the sun is shining and the sky is blue. We have had so little sunshine lately that it looks abnormal to see a blue sky.

I have a lunch date on Saturday with three of my favorite people from the school where I used to teach. Unfortunately, it's at an Indian restaurant nearby. I'm just not fond of Indian food. But I guess I'll go for the sisterhood and then eat a peanut butter sandwich once I'm back home. I miss having female friends to gab with. Too bad we're not all at the same school now.

It sounds like the sand truck is stuck again. I'm going to hunt up the camera. :-) Dr. S.