I took the last week of the year off from blogging. It isn't because I went anywhere or because everything was so up in the air and crazy that I didn't have time to come up with blog posts. It's just because it was the last week of the year and I felt like taking some time off to recharge. Not that I actually did any of that. I still had to work both my jobs throughout that week. Anyway, I'm sure there's a good half dozen of you out there who are wondering what I did with my week away from the Carp Dime. I warn you, this blog post is for the faint of heart becuase it is, at times, quite dull.
Christmas didn't turn out exactly as I had planned. Not that I made any extravagant plans. The plan was for my sister to drive down from Roanoke on Christmas morning, then we would spend the afternoon/evening at the Hamilton Hideaway eating and opening presents and playing with the kids. Instead, I got a call from April early on Christmas morning. She had heard the nasty rumor that Raleigh would be seeing more snow over that weekend that I'd seen in the three years since I first moved here.
I thought she was crazy. I looked at the forecast and saw that, indeed, they were calling for up to six inches of snow throughout Saturday and Sunday. For her, it was too much of a risk since she had to be back in Roanoke for work on Monday. I couldn't make the drive for her, so I left the decision to her. So she stayed home and I faced Christmas alone.
Well, I wasn't really alone. I continued with the rest of my plan for the day: to spend the afternoon/evening at the Hamilton Hideaway eating and opening presents and playing with the kids. This was fun, as a Christmas with five children generally turns out to be. I grew frustrated as the day went on, however. Not because of anything that could be controlled, but because of the apparent lack of winter precipitation. The whole reason for April not coming to Raleigh was because of the promised accumulation of snow. As of the time I left the Hideaway, around 6 or so, there was still no sign of snow.
I spent Christmas night at home, not doing a whole lot. I may have watched A Christmas Story again for the eighth time. And then, around 9, I looked outside and saw that the snow had finally arrived. Anyone who knows me knows that it was enough to excite me. I went to sleep that night, hoping that the promises made by the meteorologists would come true this time. I woke up to a blanket of white.
And I couldn't get out of my parking lot. Since it was Christmas weekend, we had no maintenance staff around to clear the lot or throw down salt. So unless one had four wheel drive, one could not leave the apartment. I do not have four wheel drive. And I had to skip work Sunday night. Can't deliver pizza if I can't move my vehicle.
Much to my dismay, Monday was more of the same. I'm just kidding. That wasn't dismay. That was near ecstasy. Just calling and saying that I couldn't get my car out of the parking lot to get to work was enough to make the day fantastic. Again, I didn't do much of anything. Just sat around, watched movies, read a book. Not exciting.
And then I got sick. Yeah, that same old ailment that tends to hit people around this time of year. Started with a sore throat and a fever. Turned into sneezing and a runny nose. By New Year's Eve it was a hacking cough accompanied by sleepless nights. And suddenly it was 2011.
I think that pretty much catches everyone up. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment. For now, I need to go take some more medicine. That last dose is wearing off.
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