Um, first of all, some clean-up. Plowed most of my driveway of snow Monday. Broke one of the many yardsticks I got at the Minnesota State Fair to measure the snowfall on the driveway, and most of the spots measured 4 1/2-5 inches. The snowblower worked just fine. Crapped out near the end, but that was just after I plowed the curb up to my mailbox while the carrier was just four mailboxes away. And seeing that Honda churn through those 4 1/2-5 inches of snow like it was something just injects me with testosterone.
So now comes the difficult part. The temperatures, and the windchill, plummeted throughout yesterday. The worst of the worst of this deep freeze comes this morning. In fact, at 6 a.m., the ideal time I should be out the door to get to work, is precisely (according to what I have seen) the time when both the air temperature and the feel factor or at their worst -- something like -30 for real and -60 as it feels. I may not have ever felt temps that low in my life. But shoot, I want to experience it. I have yet to be out the door for this line of work regularly at 6 in the morning, but for the nadir of this bitter cold snap ... eh, maybe, if I am not too tired.
With that being said, my main concern during these few days is my car. I have heard that driving your car for long periods of time helps "charge" the battery -- sort of like jump-starting your car, except, well, not. And I am deathly afraid that I will walk out either this morning or tomorrow morning and not getting the engine to turn over. So I have done something that government officials have warned people not to do: I drove last night. Twice, in fact. First, it was to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition) because I wanted to surprise the girls on the late shift by getting a lapdance with each one. But, like most other places in town, they closed early. Second, I went to one of the remaining SuperAmericas in town, just up Central, to buy another Coke that gets me closer to a free one, which I hopefully will get before that gas station converts to a Speedway. I also got a hot dog, which I ate inside, of course, before I headed off north on Central to get my battery a few more miles and minutes to get charged up. That's why I'm not totally bent out of shape that the nudie bar was closed. I still got my car going through its paces, so to speak, in the midst of this cold snap.
And spacing those a couple hours apart, and the latter of which six hours before I go to work, hopefully means that there are enough jumpy ions that'll convert to electrons and therefore start the car. I didn't really want to drive in the cold, and under treacherous driving conditions (the snow and ice that are on the ground obviously stay there; whatever treatments MNDOT could put down are useless when temperatures are this cold), but I would do it if it keeps my battery running. Now, there are eight-plus hours when my car is sitting cold at work, but that's a risk I'll take.
And even though the worst of the worst will be over once I get to work, I plan on driving, once and to nowhere in particular, tonight, also so my battery will stay warm. It may be a waste of gasoline, and maybe it's useless. But I'm doing it anyway because I think it'll ensure that my car works when I need it to get to work. Heck, I'm just glad my parents aren't here, yelling me to not do this.
Wish me luck that my plan works.
So now comes the difficult part. The temperatures, and the windchill, plummeted throughout yesterday. The worst of the worst of this deep freeze comes this morning. In fact, at 6 a.m., the ideal time I should be out the door to get to work, is precisely (according to what I have seen) the time when both the air temperature and the feel factor or at their worst -- something like -30 for real and -60 as it feels. I may not have ever felt temps that low in my life. But shoot, I want to experience it. I have yet to be out the door for this line of work regularly at 6 in the morning, but for the nadir of this bitter cold snap ... eh, maybe, if I am not too tired.
With that being said, my main concern during these few days is my car. I have heard that driving your car for long periods of time helps "charge" the battery -- sort of like jump-starting your car, except, well, not. And I am deathly afraid that I will walk out either this morning or tomorrow morning and not getting the engine to turn over. So I have done something that government officials have warned people not to do: I drove last night. Twice, in fact. First, it was to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition) because I wanted to surprise the girls on the late shift by getting a lapdance with each one. But, like most other places in town, they closed early. Second, I went to one of the remaining SuperAmericas in town, just up Central, to buy another Coke that gets me closer to a free one, which I hopefully will get before that gas station converts to a Speedway. I also got a hot dog, which I ate inside, of course, before I headed off north on Central to get my battery a few more miles and minutes to get charged up. That's why I'm not totally bent out of shape that the nudie bar was closed. I still got my car going through its paces, so to speak, in the midst of this cold snap.
And spacing those a couple hours apart, and the latter of which six hours before I go to work, hopefully means that there are enough jumpy ions that'll convert to electrons and therefore start the car. I didn't really want to drive in the cold, and under treacherous driving conditions (the snow and ice that are on the ground obviously stay there; whatever treatments MNDOT could put down are useless when temperatures are this cold), but I would do it if it keeps my battery running. Now, there are eight-plus hours when my car is sitting cold at work, but that's a risk I'll take.
And even though the worst of the worst will be over once I get to work, I plan on driving, once and to nowhere in particular, tonight, also so my battery will stay warm. It may be a waste of gasoline, and maybe it's useless. But I'm doing it anyway because I think it'll ensure that my car works when I need it to get to work. Heck, I'm just glad my parents aren't here, yelling me to not do this.
Wish me luck that my plan works.
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