Winter Wonderhell

Today's order: Grande Non-Fat Tazo Chai Latte (it's all I can stomach these days)

I am done with the snow. D-O-N-E. Done.

I live in the suburbs of Vancouver. We don't get snow here. Ok, ok, maybe a few flakes here and there, nothing to get excited about, generally gone by the next day. Certainly not "30+ centimeters at a time, for days on end, for nearly 3 weeks now" kind of snow. That's why I moved here. I like not getting snow in the winter time - it's very civilized.

Now, the problem isn't that I'm not used to snow. I come from the far reaches of Eastern Canada originally - trust me, I've seen my fair share of snow. I've shovelled it, I've gone sledding in it, I've thrown snowballs. I've had endless winters of it that started in October and didn't go away until late April or early May. I've walked to school, 20 miles, uphill both ways in blinding snowstorms... you know the drill...

My problem with long stretches of snow in greater Vancouver is that THIS CITY DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH SNOW! Sorry, I'm yelling. I can't help it. I'm just so frustrated!!!!!

I come from a place that knows about snow. They know winter comes every year, they budget for it, they buy snowplows, employ endless numbers of city workers, and stockpile mountains of salt. When it starts to snow, they start plowing. And they plow 24 HOURS A DAY until the snow is cleared and the city can go about its' business in a normal fashion.

Greater Vancouver apparently knows nothing about these practices. My city, which has a population of more than 400,000 people, only seems to have 3 or 4 plows on the go. And the people who operate them GO HOME AT 4 PM. No, really. I'm serious. My husband snarled at people from City Hall for nearly an hour on the phone one day, slowly working his way up the management chain, until he learned that little tidbit from one of the higher-ups at City Works. We almost fell on the floor laughing at him when he told us that. Where do these people come from?????

Over the last 2+ weeks more than 100 centimeters of snow has fallen on my yard, my driveway, and my street. And, believe this one or not, the city has never plowed my street. I don't live on a major through-road, so we apparently don't get plowed. Ever. Even if it means I can't get out of my house for days on end. Glad to see my tax dollars working so hard.

AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

I'm so bloody frustrated, I'm ready to lose my mind.

Thankfully, the weather chick on CBC tells me this may be coming to an end in the next couple of days. The temperature is supposed to rise, and they're calling for large amounts of rain to wash all this bloody snow away. However, she refuses to say that there won't be any snow included in this system. She's covering her ass. Wiley bitch, that one. She knows that one of these days I'm going to come right through the television and whip her bony white ass.

I'm seriously hoping that the rain washes away some of the crazy I'm feeling.

End of rant. Thanks for listening. (if you still are) :)