So it’s been a cold and snowy week here in Northern Virginia. The daily temperatures have not gone over 35 degrees F all week, and some mornings we’ve been greeted with commuting temperatures in the single-digits. We had (depending upon the exact area) six to eleven inches of snow on Tuesday which pretty much shut down the entire region for Tuesday and Wednesday. Yes, it’s been a true winter wonderland here in our nation’s capitol and I think I can speak for most people in wishing for Spring weather.
The week started out with Martin Luther King Jr Day as a Federal holiday. Our government clients were off and us lowly contractors had to work, but we had the option to telecommute. Any work day that I don’t need to slug into the office is a good day. Tuesday, there was a 100 percent chance of snow starting late morning, and with temps down on the high 20’s the weather guesser’s predictions were up to eleven inches accumulation. This weather is reportedly caused by a Polar Vortex, a weather phenomenon first identified in the early 1920’s and seemingly not a big deal until now. Leave it to meteorologists to discover something 90 years early.
I woke up Tuesday morning and discovered that all Federal government offices were closed, along with most schools in northern Virginia. This meant another day of telecommuting for me and another good day at work. It did snow Tuesday as predicted, but we ended up only getting about 6 inches in this area. It was enough snow that Wednesday government offices were still essentially shut down and telecommuting encouraged. I decided to go in and ended up being one of three people in my office with my boss one of the other two. I’m hoping I might have earned some brownie points.
Thursday and Friday were full work days and busy days since we were essentially doing five day’s work in two days.
Meanwhile, temperatures were down in the single digits and teens all week. We haven’t seen this long a spell of cold for three years now and people really aren’t used to it. In truth, the last two winters were exceptionally mild for this region and this is more of the traditional norm. It doesn’t matter though, I’m a warm-weather person and I am really looking forward to Spring and getting my boats back out on the water!
The week ended with me getting mildly rear-ended driving home in my Rodeo Friday evening. It wasn’t serious as these things go, more of an irritant, but I’m going to need a new rear bumper and class III trailer hitch assembly which means dealing with insurance companies and body shops.
In our evenings, Winnie and I have been really enjoying our new toy, a 50″ Smart TV we treated ourselves to for Christmas. We both enjoy watching movies and a big screen like this is quite enjoyable. Given that it’s too cold for us to be speeding much time outside, having a chance to enjoy movies at home is very nice.
So that’s the wrap-up for another week of life in the Charest household, Virginia edition. If you’re living in an area of the country affected by the Polar Vortex, please keep warm.
