My niece lives and works in Greenwich CT. Her jerk employers made her go to work today, or else take a vacation day. I hear Metro North is shutting down, and getting an Uber in this weather is insane. I advised her to sit tight until the wind dies down and then walk home.
She might be waiting a long time for wind to to die down!
I was just going to make some choccie chips cookies since I’m stuck in the house, but I don’t have vanilla. 
It’ll probably die down by tomorrow, right?
If you leave out the vanilla, the cookies will still be delicious. Peppermint or orange flavoring could be interesting if you have any.
Almond extract might also be interesting for the cookies. I’m sure your cookies will be fine with no vanilla.
@“Cardinal Fang” What kind of business does she work for? I always had to be at work, regardless of the weather.
As far as snow removal, up here you either own a snowblower or you have a plow guy lined up for the winter. But, you still wind up doing some shoveling - the mailbox, a path to the propane tank, etc.
Just skip the vanilla, @emilybee.
I don’t have any of those other flavorings as I don’t bake anything but choc chip cookies. I’ll try without the vanilla and see if I can tell the difference.
She’s a temp admin for a hedge fund. Hedge funds are hardly essential businesses.
@“Cardinal Fang”
CT resident here. It is supposed to be VERY windy through Saturday and into Sunday as well. And I’m on the western edge of this mess.
Now jerk employers sent her home. Not clear how she is supposed to get there. I so don’t trust Uber in a blizzard.
It was in the teens here this morning. Now up to 30 degrees. Left some of the sinks dripping so pipes hopefully don’t freeze
That IS a jerk employer. The governor of CT only required essential state workers to show up. Most towns completely shuttered…including Greenwitch. Their town hall is closed!
When you said she works in Greenwich, I figured it was for a hedge fund. They think they are essential.
H always has to go in - even on the very rare occasion the state govt gets closed down - as he is considered essential.
They bumped us back down to the original 1-3”. It’s been snowing since around 7am and I’d say we only have had an inch from looking at my deck. Street has been plowed, too.
She would’ve had to take a vacation day to stay home. I guess it’s not news that hedge funds are staffed with jerks.
“I’ll try without the vanilla and see if I can tell the difference.”
I would add extra chocolate chips (perhaps 1 1/2 times what the recipe calls for) to compensate for the lack of vanilla.
At least for our part of New England, digging out tonight is definitely a good plan. Tomorrow is supposed to be bitterly cold – too cold and windy to want to do much outside.
Barring a national emergency (like 9/11), investment shops are expected by their customers to be open whenever the market is open. Regional weather issues are not considered a valid reason to be closed.
However, part of the preparation to always staying open is being able to work remotely, like I am doing today. Surprised that the hedge fund hasn’t been setup that way.
When I make choc chip cookies, the primary flavors are butter and chocolate. I don’t think compensation is necessary. Of course if you like chocolate chips you can put more in.
First power glitch in my Boston suburb–UPS triggered for five seconds.
House is set to a toasty 78 degrees to give a head start if we lose power.
Ditto what @hebeglebe says about investment management. Market open, you go in. However, a temp admin isn’t considered essential to running the business so that was dumb to require her to go in.
As far as working remotely, that often isn’t possible in the field for security/privacy issues. Given that they are managing people’s money and making investments, cybersecurity is very important and many aspects cannot be handled through remote work.
“House is set to a toasty 78 degrees to give a head start if we lose power.”
Are you wearing your swim trunks? 
Gosh, I’d be dying at that heat. I set my thermostat at the low 60s in the winter and I just went to check it to see if someone slid the temp up today because it feels so hot. I think it’s because it is back up to the high 20s after being at single digits or subzero temps. It feels balmy.