Wait for it... Wait for it...

So I called in "snow" to work today -- mostly because I'm a big fat chicken when it comes to driving in snow or ice.  And, to be fair (to me!), the local weather guys had predicted a "90% chance of snow by mid-day today, prompting at least 90% of the local school districts to declare today a snow day before the sun even rose.  (Or didn't.) 

Of course, calling in didn't mean I wouldn't be working today.  In fact, it meant that I'd be more productive because I'd be working instead of commuting.  I'm sure my boss gets this, but still, I got an IM from him around mid-day, saying "streets are dry as a bone here....and the temp is 36....looks like the weather may be better than expected :)"  To which I, being the respectful and subservient employee that I am, replied, "Yeah, rub it in! :)" and felt guilty for the rest of the day for crying wolf snow.

By 4:30, when my official work day had already ended and there wasn't a snowflake (or raindrop) to be seen, Kat and I decided to head to Costco, with a stop at Safeway on the way.  As we drove into the Safeway parking lot, a few raindrops hit the windshield and we bemoaned the whole "snow!!" panic in the media, deciding that it was all a buncha hooey and the most humidity we'd get would be in the form of a few raindrops.

We headed into the store, quickly gathered a few items and headed to the cashier.  As she was ringing us up, she said, "So, it's finally coming down out there, eh?!"  We looked outside and the ground was completely white. 

Wait just one minute!

Just 4 minutes and 37 seconds previous, it was barely sprinkling and now it was practically blizzarding?!  We loaded up our groceries and started to head home.  Luckily, I had driven our new 4-wheel drive and whether I liked it or not, I was now gonna have a chance to test it out in real conditions. It drove like a dream... like a cream puff in the snow!  (Rule about car-speak: every time you say something good about a car, use the term "cream puff.")

Our house is less than a mile from Safeway, and even in the blinding blizzard (weeellll...), it took us less than 5 minutes to drive home. I immediately took out my camera to snap these shots:

(Look carefully.  Who do you see?)

You better believe that there's no way I'm "calling in snow" tomorrow.  It's still dumping, so surely there will be massive amounts of snow, come morning.  But I'll leave it to others to declare it too treacherous to go to the office. 

The closest I'll get would be to call in S.A.D.*

*Seasonal Affective Disorder, an officially recognized affliction of Northwesterners in winter.