Okay, So It was a Storm
2007-02-15, 4:14 p.m.

Day 907

21 inches.

That was our total snowfall midnight to midnight on Valentines Day. Set a single day record for February. My snow blower got put to use more yesterday than it did all of last winter. I�d post a pic of my driveway and it�s accompanying snow mounds, but it pales in comparison to the 13 feet some parts of the state got last week. Heck, some town over near Albany was up over 3 feet accumulated just yesterday.

Schools around here are up & running today. It�s still shut down just east of us, but our county and everything to the west seems pretty good.

My van? Still in the shop. Guy is having trouble isolating the problem in the wiring. I�m getting scared. Worried that their original diagnosis is wrong and they�re going to find something more expensive to fix. Of course, even finally picking the damn thing up from the dealer will be complicated because of my need to be at bowling by 4:30 this afternoon come hell or high water.

Then. From the �It just keeps getting better department�, Cindy�s cousins husband (my cousin-in-law?) passed away yesterday. Brain cancer. Been fighting it for 5+ years. This sucks on so many levels. First, he was only 46. Second, he was a truly great guy. Third, I was hoping that she�d be willing to go to the services (in Delaware) herself, but it looks like I got roped in too. Seems I�m a better navigator, map reader and just generally �how do we get from here to there� kinda person dontcha know. Plus she doesn�t want to travel solo with her dad.

Flying from here into Philly is apparently impossible this weekend. Well, not impossible but prohibitively expensive (the price has a comma in it) and very circuitous. Rochester to Boston to Richmond to Philly. 7 hours transit time. I can drive it in 6. Philly would have been nice though � only 25 or so miles from all of our destinations in Delaware & Pa.

Instead, we�re flying into Baltimore (BWI), getting a car and driving the 70 miles up to where we need to be in Delaware. 3 of us going for less than 1 of the Philly plane tickets would have cost. That includes a mid sized car for the weekend.

Still, I don�t want to go. Got shit to get done for work, eating well is going to be a real challenge, going to be stuck dealing with crowds, no trip to the gym on Saturday and we�ll be babysitting Cindy�s Dad the entire weekend. The upside? I get to spend the weekend with my in laws extended family, a very cliquish bunch, and I�m not really in the clique. Hell, I�m not even from their state.

Later now. Van�s done and back in my possession. It runs. Window goes up & down. Engine sounds louder in a subtle kind of way. Can�t put my finger on why, but there is a difference in how it sounds. I�m not liking it either. Oh well. The window works.

Too much to finish before I go. Bowling tonight. I really need to call someone from my Al Anon group and let them know I can�t make the regional meeting tomorrow night due to my new flight status. This board isn�t quite done and it needs to be in layout next week. This is gonna have to do until later.

Before I go � a question. Why is it guys are dead in their tracks if they don�t get their (wife, girlfriend, daughters, s/o) anything for Valentines day, but if the (wife, girlfriend, daughters, s/o) gets them nothing, they�re dead in their tracks if they mention the apparent oversight? Tell me this isn�t a universal truth. Please.

Come next February, will someone remind me that I can save a bunch of money by ignoring Valentines Day? What a waste. I could have had new bowling shoes instead.

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