holy shit! who's in Ma. right now

[sniffa]

this snow's coming down like crazy. cars are backed up, spinning out, and crashing everywhere.

we got sent home early, and lucky for me, i took the train to work. after waiting for 3 trains until one with room on it came, i made it home in only 1.25 hours.

[billyskank]

1. Glad you made it home safe.

:hug:

[sniffa]

3. thanks sweetie

:hug:

[Radio_Lady]

61. hi sniffa... glad you made it home.

Brings back memories of our former home in Sudbury... where we went through so many ice and snow storms.

Are you old enough to remember the Blizzard of 1978?

We're happy you're safe...

Happy holidays -- and praying for a December/January thaw!!!

Radio Lady in Florida

[sniffa]

68. yes

i remember my dad pulling myself (3) and my 9 y.o. sister down the middle of Cushing St. while making horse noises. my sister and i were dying laughing as he towed us half a mile to the Star Market for supplies.

it's one of my earliest memories.

[BarenakedLady]

2. My brother does

Talked to my mom earlier and she said he was leaving work early. I hope he got home ok.

It is pretty nasty around here still. I'll relax after all my kids get off the bus. :scared:

[sniffa]

4. Boston pretty much shut down at 2

which was brilliant since it had been snowing for over an hour at that point. :eyes:

we'll probably get 8" total today, but possibly double that. oi!

[SallyMander]

5. That's where my family all is

Hope everybody's OK! Glad you made it home safe and sound.

[sniffa]

12. well, i should have been fine since i was mostly on trains

i hope your family is ok. :hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

38. The T is the best way to travel in a snowstorm.

Even crowded and slow it beats the crap out of driving.
Sounds like this storm's a big one!

[bicentennial_baby]

40. Here's a pic:

[Gormy Cuss]

42. Oh ick. An icy snow mix coming your way.

At least it wasn't kitteh surgery day.

[SallyMander]

46. Holy crap!!!

Apparently my parents are stuck at work... :( Oh well, maybe they'll get a lot of work done!

Stay warm sweetie! :hug:

[sniffa]

48. doh!

where do they work? and did they drive?

the volume is much lighter now, but the lighter volume is still inching along.

our parking lot is used (illegally i might add) by every asshat that wants to pick up/drop off people at the station, and our lot is not yet plowed.... so we get to watch cars and even SUVs getting stuck in our lot. i point and laugh. if they had paid $1500/month for the lot, i might not, but since....

[SallyMander]

52. My mom works in Burlington

and they live in Winchester -- so she's not far at all. I just heard back from her again, and apparently my dad is at a company Christmas party??? LOL... so i have no idea where he is! His office is actually in southern New Hampshire (Brookline) -- i hope he's not way the heck up there! If so he may be crashing on the floor of his office tonight!


$1500/month for parking! Holy cannolis! What area do you guys live in?

(BTW i'd probably be laughing too -- especially at the $50k "luxury" SUVs that are USELESS just when you'd really need one... :evilgrin: )

On edit, i am assuming my parents drove, yes, so they are probably screwn.

[sniffa]

57. no, that's our rent

i also can't stand our neighbors next door who use our dumpster daily. fucking cheap/lazy asses. :eyes:

your mom should be ok. your dad too most likely.. especially if he's partying late. ;)

[SallyMander]

65. Oh, gotcha

I was thinking, man, i haven't lived in Boston for a while now, but that seems CRAAAAZY! :dunce:

I'm sure they'll be fine -- i'm gonna give my dad a call. Maybe he's decided if he's stuck he might as well booze it up. :D


Hope you two have a cozy night!

[Radio_Lady]

50. Bicentennial Baby, thanks for the screen capture. This was updated from

what we saw here this morning.

Stay safe, sweet New England. We miss you for at least three seasons of the year!

Happy Holidays!

Radio Lady and Audio Al on Sanibel Island, Florida

[Tyler Durden]

6. New York is getting it bad right now.

SIL says she laid in food and is vegging on the couch.

[sniffa]

13. yeah, we're not going anywhere

i "could" go out tonight and shovel the car, but i'll see how i feel about it later. :P

[Sequoia]

36. Don't bother as it will probably snow even more.

Make cookies, read, snuggle by the fire. Stay warm and safe.

[Tyler Durden]

71. Don't do that...you could catch cold, or slip, or stub you toe....

[sniffa]

72. yeah, it's not gonna happen

and not just because of my laziness. it's apparently gonna snow straight through till midnight, and i get up at 5ish for work.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Ooh, stay indoors! I am in Maine and we are not expecting you to send this to us until

Sunday, I think.

[sniffa]

10. we're getting a nor'easter on Sunday

:(

don't know if you're getting that too, or if that's what you're getting.

[SoxFan]

8. I'm in Manchester, NH

It's snowin' like a mutha out there. I was supposed to go across the river to Bedford earlier this afternoon, but I took one step ouitside and said screw this.

[sniffa]

11. it's coming down so fast and the wind isn't helping

:wow:

we have a main thoroughfare outside our apt. and we're watching the cars just idling for miles.

[redqueen]

9. Yeesh...

glad you got home ok... finally! How far did you have to go in that time?

[sniffa]

15. normally, about a 45 minute commute by train & trolley

the train was fine (packed, but i got on and home rather quickly). the trolley was a nightmare though. every train that pulled into the unusually packed station was already packed to the gills.

[sniffa]

19. UPDATE

we're watching the storm and traffic on channel 7 and right now..

2 hours to get from inside the O'Neil Tunnel to South Bay - which is either 1 mile, or 3 depending on which part of the tunnel they're speaking of.

and then 90 minutes from South Bay to the Braintree Split.

3 hours on the Pike from Boston to Framingham.


and they have some jerks interviewing stranded drivers and asking, "so, what's the problem?"

[redqueen]

24. Hahahahahaha... oh those poor people!

The news is such a joke nowadays... I don't know how those stranded aren't taking roundhouse swings at the bobbleheads. :P

[sniffa]

26. they're all taking it well and laughing

and answering the obvious answers.

part of me is annoyed by it, but part of me bursts out laughing with every bit of salt they rub in their wounds. :rofl:

[redqueen]

29. I do feel bad for laughing...

but I can't help it!

It's such a mind-numbingly brainless question... :rofl:

[Orsino]

14. Probably Pa again. n/t

[hisownpetard]

16. SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tra la la, tra la la, it's finally friggin' SNOWING!!

I live in Massachusetts, on the Cape, and it looks so gorgeous right now!
I've been mourning the fact that winter, as we've known it, seems like a thing of the past.
Mid-December, and not one flake, anywhere.
And then - lo and behold - SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am one of the few people around who is actually thrilled about the weather forecast.
What a beautiful day!


P.S. Just stay safe, everyone, please!

Edit:to add p.s.

[sniffa]

22. i love snow

just not this much all at once. :wow:

[hisownpetard]

34. I know. And traipsing through it is not the same as being home, all warm and dry,

and not having to go out. That's when you can appreciate the coziness of it.
Hope you all get home safely!!

[Sequoia]

37. You all are acting like happy children getting a snow day !!

Meanwhile the sun still shines on the Golden Gate.

[hisownpetard]

43. Having any weather condition all the time - even sun - would make me bored. I like the drama

of 4 different seasons (for as long as that may last).

[Sequoia]

84. Actually we have four seasons, but not snow.

Unless it's the higher elevations. I live in Sonoma County and we have fall leaves and spring blossoms. In the winter we have lots of rain if we're lucky.

[hisownpetard]

100. Interesting. I didn't know that!

[Gormy Cuss]

90. Most of NorCal has two seasons, Dry and Wet.

During the dry season, it hardly every rains. During the rainy season, it rains sometimes. "Spring" flowers bloom starting in January and extend for months. There is no fall, except for the shorter days.
In the inland valleys we do get frosts at night during the rainy season and we have very hot days but not very often. Out on the coast the weather is far less variable. That's the thing about weather here -- it's rare that it's worth talking about it.

[Sequoia]

103. We certainly have fall where I live, some of the trees still have orange leaves

That look like fire when the sun shines through the leaves. And the vineyards were a blaze of color this year. Oh yes, we have fall where I live.

[Gormy Cuss]

104. Leaves change here, too. We just don't have a season for it.

There are trees and shrubs that color just like the colors in a four season Northern fall, and vineyards are beautiful when the leaves color. What's different is there is no swift transition from summer causing them to color very quickly and intensely following by a swift drop, signaling the transition to a period that's cooler but not cold for several months before winter. Winter, the trees are bare, all flowers are dead or dormant and the ground is hard even when not covered by snow. There's no mistaking that it's winter. It's cold at night always and cold most days for months before it starts warming up and the plants wake up from dormancy in the Spring, the season when snow gives way to rain and the days are warming but the nights are cool to cold. This lasts for several months too, then the transition to summer (warm days, warm nights) begins. That pattern appears in some parts of California at elevation but generally not around here.

Here there is a long, haphazard leaf coloring and drop period. Most of the colorful plants are landscaping, not stands of trees in the woods. The summer plants go dormant when the days shorten, but only gradually because Septembers and Octobers are warm as summer most of the time. Some trees and shrubs begin to have leaf color during this period; others don't. Some deciduous trees don't start coloring until mid-November when there's a drop in the nighttime temperatures. Wind or rain is what finally causes most of the leaf drop, not cold. Some years I'm raking leaves for weeks. Other years it's only a few days. Then there are the native deciduous trees like California buckeyes. The leaves change color and drop in the summer and don't leaf out until we've had a couple of good rain storms.

That's why I don't think we have more than two distinct seasons here.

[JackBeck]

17. Is bi_baby home yet?

I was actually looking forward to getting some snow today. So far, it's only been ice/cold rain.

NJT suffers a major aneurysm anytime there's light rain, so I'm sure the commute home tonight will be a joy. But that's what the bar inside Penn Station is for, I guess. I hear some Buffalo chicken fingers and a cold Bass calling my name.:9

Stay warm and safe, buddy.

:grouphug:

[sniffa]

21. yeah, she beat me home by 15 minutes

i hope your commute isn't too bad. :hug:

and enjoy the drinks and food.
we're not going anywhere, save for leaning out on the porch for smokes. :D

[matcom]

18. JUST got home - 2 Hours and 45 Minute commute

x(

[sniffa]

20. where were you coming from, and what route did you take?

[matcom]

23. from Maynard

i bought a new truck 2 weeks ago (4 wheel drive) :woohoo:

so the main routes were so packed I took a series of back roads down through Sudbury and Marlborough, down through Southborough and Hopkinton. was doing well until I was forced to hit traffic. Took me 45 minutes to go 2 miles

[sniffa]

25. ick

i'm glad you're not working any further east.

are you watching any of the storm coverage? the news people are being such douchebags to the people stuck in traffic, or abandoning their cars.

"so, what seems to be the problem?"
"it looks like your windshield is iced over."
"don't you wish you stayed home today?"

[matcom]

28. JUST saw that on channel 7

:rofl:

yeah, I had to pull over 3 times to fix the wipers. if there was a news crew asking me stupid shit out in the storm I would have punched the douche on air right in the taco.

[Radio_Lady]

55. Hi Matcom! How are you? Wow, sounds treacherous!

I probably told you this before, but we lived in Sudbury for almost 30 years. My trip from Sudbury to Dedham in the winter of 1996 ended up in a ditch in Weston. It had taken me about four hours to go north on 128.

Best for the holidays... Stay safe... be careful.

Radio Lady and Audio Al on Sanibel Island, Florida (and feeling really guilty about it...)

PS. Tomorrow we welcome friends from Wisconsin flying in from Milwaukee. At least we can share with that couple!

[Pied Piper]

27. I got sent home at 3:00.

Fortunately it was only a 20-minute walk to get home, but Huntington Ave is a parking lot- no movement at all.

Here's a pic out my window:

[sniffa]

30. damn that sucks

and why the green line was so f'n miserable today. x(

nice picture. :hi:

[Xipe Totec]

33. He're the nice message we got from HR:

(edited to remove compromising info)

Unless there is a state of emergency, the office is open (there are a number of employees who live nearby or on the Red Line). Use your best judgment and make a best effort attempt to make your way into the office safely, and use the same best effort to determine departure time.

If you decide you can’t make it into the office, you may use a vacation day to cover the time, please let your manager know that you will be out.

:eyes:

[Pied Piper]

54. UPDATE

Too late to edit my original post...

The first pic was taken at 3:30.

Here's another pic from 5:30, same intersection:




BTW, NONE of those cars are moving...

And that little white lump in the lower right is an abandoned car.

[sniffa]

60. wow!

:wow:

the only thing different is the lack of daylight.

[sniffa]

75. UPDATE: E Line shut down

because of your pix. :o

[Pied Piper]

78. Yes! I have teh power!

I nearly match the Clenis in my strength!

[DS1]

31. I have a 12 minute, 2 mile commute normally

I will report back how long it takes tonight.

The other non-management all got to leave, but I don't since I live close.

Goddammit.

[bicentennial_baby]

32. Good luck babe...

:hug:

[DS1]

67. Well

It was a wash. I drove a little slower, but the light neutralized it. Plus since the roads were empty due to parking ban, I was able to zoom down the back roads instead of waiting for other people to crawl by.

Still, strangely, I feel like a cigarette. Snow always makes me want to light up, I cannot explain this.

[matcom]

69. strangely....

you LOOK like a cigarette!

come 'here and let me SMOKE YA! :D

[DS1]

70. Amphetamine, not just for country boys anymore

[flvegan]

35. Even with it's faults, this is part of why I moved to Florida.

Glad you made it home safe. Everyone stay warm!

Probably not a good time to state that it's 80 degrees and sunny, here.

[Radio_Lady]

51. Hi flvegan... from Sanibel Island, FL where it was supposed to hit 84 degrees today.

No verification of that at all... no computer link until this evening...

but it was pretty warm all day. When did you move to Florida? I left in 1972 and have made many visits here, mostly to the West Coast -- Naples, Marco Island, Sanibel Island.

Happy Holidays!

Radio Lady and Audio Al

[flvegan]

64. 1989

I moved here to go to school. Never left.

[nutsnberries]

39. me

i'm in the merrimack valley and it's beautiful outside!

sadly though, i'm worried about some travelers working their way here from worcester - very very slowly.

[rockymountaindem]

41. Me

I've got nowhere to go though. I did all my errands before it started snowing. I kinda wish I had more snack food on hand, but the store's in walking distance. Plus I got a really cool hat yesterday that I've been sporting all day.

[nutsnberries]

44. yeah... i've been meaning to tell you...

it looks really good on you! :thumbsup:

[rockymountaindem]

47. Thanks

It matches my scarf and everything. Who'da thunk Finnish Army surplus materials would be so stylish?

[sniffa]

45. yeah, i kinda want chips or something

but there's a store at the train station across the street if i really want it.

[Radio_Lady]

49. This thread makes us feel guilty. We used to live in Sudbury, MA- went through the Blizzard of..

1978.

Good vibes and STAY SAFE!

PLEASE BE CAREFUL driving, walking, sledding, skiing, etc...

Radio Lady on Sanibel Island, Florida, with her husband Audio Al

[AlCzervik]

53. glad you made it home ok. My friend Claire works in Porter Square and they let them out early

which is good because it's her birthday so she started drinking early.

[sniffa]

58. nice

where does she live, and did she drive? the red line was smooth sailing today. :hi:

[AlCzervik]

62. she drove, she lives off Mystic ave in beautiful Meffa near the Malden.

by the time i called her it was 3:00, "Damn woman, how many?" "Oh about this many" "Can't see your fingers through the phone bitch bag" "Oh, then this many hehehehe" I'm guessing she's about passed out by now.

[Little Star]

56. I'm here and its pretty nasty.

[sniffa]

59. yeah it is

are you safe in doors yet?

[Mrs.Matcom]

63. I'm here and finally home!

Took me two hours to go less than 20 miles!! I couldn't go my normal route, which is Rte 85 through Hopkinton, since the road was backed up through Southboro! I went Rte 135 through Ashland and Hopkinton. I too had to stop three times to clean off the wipers. And yes the news peeps are being butt wipes! :grr:

How is the kitteh??

[bicentennial_baby]

66. Hey sweetie!!

It's brutal out there!! :o

Kitteh is sleeping now, still rockin' the reverse lampshade collar, which he does not want! :)

:loveya:

[Mrs.Matcom]

73. Hey you!!

So glad the little man is doing better!!! :loveya:

I sure hope the snow stops soon and they can clean up the roads by morning...ugh! We have over 6" right now!

[bicentennial_baby]

74. Actually, I'd rather they didn't...

:P I have one more day of classes....

But UMASS Beantown is like the mall, never f'n closes.... :rofl:

Yeah, he's still pretty out of it from yesterday, but eating and using the box fine, just lots of sleeping...I feel bad about the collar, but it's necessary for at least another day. x(

:loveya:

[Mrs.Matcom]

82. my Pumpkin Cat had one of those collars on

for a month! she had an ear hematoma that had to have a wick insterted...oh what fun that was! NOT! Anyway, when we finally took it off, I think she did cartwheels!! Next time you are out this way, you will have to meet the "kids"...you'll fall in love! :hug: stay warm and dry...matcom is out shoveling...I best go heat a glass of brandy for the poor boy! :D

[bicentennial_baby]

85. Oooh, I *so* wanna meet the kids!!

And YOU!!! :bounce:

One of these days girl...We need a girl's day/night out! :D

:loveya:

And yes, he's being a good boy, brandy is in order :P

[Mrs.Matcom]

96. Most definitely!

but let's wait until the weather is warmer??? Maybe another DU BBQ is in order this summer? I'll talk to matcom and see what he thinks. We can fire up the bbqs and have a foodie cook off! :P

[dben88]

76. My normal 10 minute commute took...

25 minutes. I was expecting a horror show like the storm two years ago in December, but strangely no one was on Hyde Park Ave at 5pm. Glad everyone is back home safe.

[sniffa]

77. damn, you lucked out

good on you. :thumbsup:

i'm debating driving in tomorrow, so that hopefully when they plow our lot, my empty spot will be plowed too.

ps: if anyone else works in the Back Bay/Kenmore area, i could pass along knowledge (or a map) of 24 different free parking spots. i got one of the 24/7 free parking spots 8 days in a row, ending yesterday when i went back to training it.

[MissMillie]

79. I am home safe

I left Boston at 1:30ish, arrived at home at 4:50. No accidents on the Pike, but very slow going.

[bicentennial_baby]

80. I was worried about you!!!

:hug: I am SO glad you're home safe and sound.

:)

[MissMillie]

81. thank you sweetie

the trick to driving in this stuff is to avoid the brakes at all costs... meaning driving very slowly and keeping lots of space between you and the car ahead of you... and hoping no one cuts you off

[bicentennial_baby]

83. Yes, exactly!!

I have to drive to W. Ma on the 21st, I hope the weather's good. I have to drive from Boston to Greenfield, to Worcester, back to Gfld, and then back to Boston. Mom's ALS Team appt...I'll leave at 10 am, home at 9. x(

:hug:

[MissMillie]

86. that sounds like a long day

hope it's not too tough for you and that your mom's appt. is productive.

[bicentennial_baby]

87. I'm hoping to be able to stay in waiting rooms...

being there for her diagnosis was horrific, so I hope that I can just bring my knitting and relax this time. It's the day after finals end...ugh. Gotta do what I gotta do, nobody else can take her. :shrug:

:)

[MissMillie]

88. if it were not a work day, I would offter to meet you

some other time...

[bicentennial_baby]

89. One of these days!!

:hug:

[no name no slogan]

91. How's your snow situ?

do you have an update?

[bicentennial_baby]

92. Still snowing hard...about 8 inches...

I really want skool to be cancelled, but no dice, that place never closes, damn commuter school. They assume we can all just take the subway x(

[Breeze54]

93. It's stll snowing like crazy here...we have about 9 inches, last I heard.

Hell; I'm not going out there to measure it! :P

The news told me that! ;)

[no name no slogan]

94. Damn, that's HUGH

I can't believe they wouldn't give you a snow day for that much. Even in MN, we close stuff down once we get 6"-- even local government.

Stay safe :hug:

[bicentennial_baby]

95. I will baby

Naw, we're in the city, and have subway/bus access, so they assume we can all get there just fine, even though plenty of my classmates and profs don't live anywhere near the train/bus. Ugh.

[Breeze54]

98. Not at all...3 Feet is HUGE!!!!!!

But this was fun, for a first 'real' snow blast. ;)

[Jamastiene]

97. Wow, I'm glad you made it home safely, sniffa.

:pals:

[Bombero1956]

99. my biggest wish

would be to hibernate until spring. It's days like this when I lose hope. Damn I hate winter. :-( :-(

[edbermac]

101. Me...and I fucking HATE it!

Out of work at 6:30; take train to bus station; buses usually run every 15 minutes; didn't get on one until 45 minutes had passed; 15 minute ride home took about 35 minutes;got home about 8:15; took the snowblower out; no gas, walk 3 blocks down to gas station; get back and start using the blower and found out the screw was broken holding one of the two auger blades,only one works; haul it back to the cellar;15 minutes tearing the house apart looking for a replacement; start plowing again; after 5 minutes a small wrapped up newspaper buried under the snow gets sucked into the blades; stops the blower dead; haul it back to the cellar again, another 15 minutes prying it out; finally get everything plowed out by 11:15pm.

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

I FUCKING HATE SNOW!!! :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

And how was YOUR evening?

[Kat45]

102. I got on the road at about 2:30, and a usual 10 minute drive took

about 40 minutes or so. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (or as it would be later), but it still doesn't seem worth it for a minimum-wage holiday retail job.

The worst thing was that this was one of my boyfriend's days off, which are always in the middle of the week; I only get to see him one or two nights a week, and we couldn't get together tonight because of the fucking snow. Good thing we got to do a little something something last night because it will be another week before we can get together again.

I HATE THE COLD; AND I PARTICULARLY HATE THE FUCKING SNOW (AND ICE). WINTER SUCKS! (Pardon my yelling but it had to be said.)