Take A Snow Ride (and take it easy)

I just took a brief drive in the snow, testing to see if it is as bad as i feared, or not as bad, or worse. I ran to Mojo music to get a set of strings for the 12-string guitar my dad recently repaired (the neck had been snapped for years), and a spare 010 high E for the special tuning I use on another guitar. Roads are just.... fucking.... NASTY. It's as bad as I feared, maybe even a notch worse. I'm a pretty good snow driver, at least for western Washington state, and had no problems coping with all the fishtailing and sliding. I wasn't worried so much about my own driving, but more about other people. And the conditions themselves are just horrible, even for a good snow driver. I tried to go to Barnes & Noble to look for something for somebody. I got there fine, but just as I got to the door to walk in a woman poked her head out. "I'm sorry," she said, "We're closing right now so our employees can get home before dark." As much as I wanted to look around in the store, I think she made a good choice for them. It was bad in daylight, and will be really unsafe at night. I hope it's better tomorrow. I have taken two 'snow days' now, and they're unpaid. I can't afford more of that.