(no subject)

This Portland snowstorm has caught me completely unprepared. I had heard that it was coming, and even that it might accumulate (something that has never happened in all the time I've lived here), I just wasn't ready for how debilitating it would be. In Virginia, there's plenty of snow every winter, and you learn to deal with it. It slows things down, but people still go out and most things stay open. I guess I expected something similar here, but the problem is that the city doesn't have a plow infrastructure. So three days after the initial snowfall, the roads are still covered in snow and ice. I've been able to walk to 7-Eleven a couple times a day, but you couldn't tempt me to go out in my car on roads like this. So it seems we're all stuck until this stuff melts. It may be a few days yet.

One thing that strikes me is how much prettier the snow is here -- because people AREN'T driving in it, and it hasn't been plowed -- none of the snow is mixed with road dirt and exhaust -- even three days after the initial drop, it's still perfectly soft and white. There's no gross slush anywhere. At least not anywhere within walking distance of my house, which is as far as I've ventured. Apparently the MAX is still running smoothly, but buses are way off schedule, and I don't have any need to go anywhere, so I'm not testing it for myself. It would be nice if I had more food options, but I'll live.

I am rather bored with my own house, though, and tired of being sick and stuffed up...but it'll pass eventually.