it wasn't that bad

Last night i had the amazing foresight to go out and clean the ice and snow off my car so that i'd be ready to roll this morning. I'm glad I did, because it took me about 30 minutes, with the car running and defrost on full-blast, to work through the 4 inches of ice covering parts of my windshield.

i felt really prepared, and, a little proud of myself.

This morning, i headed out there a few minutes before 8 to go to work. I started it up, scraped the ice again and started to pull out. I was totally stuck in the ice. I tried to clear the space away next to the tires, but it didn't work out.
I had several options:
1) Call someone for a ride.
2) Take the campus bus to campus, then the library bus from there.
3) Walk.

Obviously, I chose the easy route.

I went back in to get my book, then started walking down the street. Johnny called me when I was a few blocks out and said her work was closed and that she was coming back home. She was going to pick me up and drive me the rest of the way.

I was really glad because I'd only gone about 4 blocks (in the street because the sidewalks were really awful) and I was already freezing. It was about 10 degrees this morning and my coffee cup was made of metal, so every time I took a drink my lips stuck to it a little bit.

She called back. Her boss showed up, she wasn't coming.

Oh, no problem, I said.

I kept walking. I went through parking lots becuase they were more likely to have been shoveled. I got to the corner of the least hospitable part of the trip -- an almost highway-like stretch of about a mile, crossing a river and no sidewalks, even when there isn't any snow.
I crossed the street and instantly fell down. Underneath me was some kind of rubber, instead of concrete, so it probably won't bruise - but at least I didn't spill my coffee!

I was halfway across the bridge when I realized -- oh, i'm totally walking on top of a 3 foot drift, and my falling options are either into speeding traffic, or into the frozen river. i slipped once, almost freaked out, and realized that my irrational fear of falling through very small cracks isn't so irrational after all.

More parking lots, more snowdrifts and I finally made it to work, after about 45 minutes. I was telling my coworker about it when i got in and she said she was really impressed. "Most women would have called in," she said.

Called in. Called in. Brilliant. I didn't even think of that. I'm taking the bus home.