Sudden blizzard
News ·Monday March 9, 2009 @ 21:45 EDT (link)
I left work a little after 1400 due to snow (it was just pouring down in Redmond… out of a metaphorically clear blue sky). Honey called and was worried, but I'd planned to leave anyway, after AH (co-worker who lives in Woodinville) mentioned it (funny thing: he had planned to work from home due to snow, then came in after it cleared up, then left again around when I did). The snow started sticking on the way home; things got unusually slow on Novelty Hill (about 30 mph in a 40 zone, when the usual speed is around 45); actually going down the hill things slowed to a crawl, for good reason. It was extremely slippery, and totally untreated.
Canadian (or North Dakotan) readers may scoff, but the line of cars included minivans and other 2WD vehicles like my Solara, the hill is extremely steep, and as I said, no sand, salt, snow tires, or chains. I got home around 1445, but got stuck at the end of the next street from ours, climbing a tiny hill off the main road (275th leaving Stephens, for those that know the area). I was in the middle of the road and stuck; going back could mean sliding into a ditch and I couldn't go forward (need more power). So I walked the rest of the way home (equivalent of just a few blocks) with a box with my work notebook, books, and camera in it; it was freezing. I called AAA to get a tow truck, and the local police to let them know, but fortunately it thawed enough to get it out at around 1615 (and thankfully nobody had hit my car, probably because they used a nearby turning circle to go around it—if I could have gotten to it to park in it, I would have).
Added created column to pH.journal table, since so frequently entries are added at times different from their date of occurrence.
