<p>AllThisIsNews — If you can, you work from home. That is what my DH does. Laptop & phone calls. </p>
<p>Beats heck out of sitting for hours on an icy road.</p>
<p>Very happy to report that it is currently 51* and sunny in the Heart of America.</p>
<p>I can see the ground for the first time in weeks (after 2 big snows, 3 snow days–not bad so far.)</p>
<p>AllThisIsNewToMe, when it’s bad enough the municipal offices, schools, banks are closed, or many may close early. </p>
<p>On the other hand, first responders and medical personnel have little choice but to at least try and get to work. Often, if they make it, they end up pulling double shifts or longer to cover for those that couldn’t make it in.</p>
<p>Wife is in health care, classified as “essential personnel”. Yesterday was only the second time in 30 plus years she had to call out because of the weather. When you can’t get out of the street in 4wd low gear, it’s time to stay home.</p>
<p>garland, I don’t know whether to offer congrats or sympathy for your decision to abandon moderation.</p>
<p>On a positive note…I have noticed new signs sprouting up all over town advertising for “snow removal from your roof”. Gotta love the entrepreneurial spirit!</p>
<p>Violadad–it was a good experience, overall (they really are very nice people), but I just wasn’t putting in the time required, and felt guilty all the time. So I’ll take your congrats *and *your sympathy.</p>
<p>(returning you to your regularly scheduled thread now.)</p>
<p>Things I observed today:</p>
<ol>
<li> Throwing a snow covered frisbee to your dog makes your fingers very cold.</li>
<li> Wearing gloves while throwing a snow covered frisbee to your dog results in very inaccurate throws.</li>
<li> Inaccurate throws of a frisbee invariably land on the other side of the invisible fence.</li>
<li> Tennis balls disappear in deep snow.</li>
<li> Labrador retrievers are not easily distracted from their toys.</li>
<li> Deep snow on top of ice on top of deep snow is not fun to walk on.</li>
<li> Snow in boots on bare ankles is also very cold.</li>
</ol>
<p>Seriously? More snow on Wednesday? Ugh. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Sign next to the huge pile of snow plowed from the grocery store parking lot: “Free snow”</p>
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<p>Add me to the list of hill dwellers, except, just for added fun, our driveway has 2 right angle turns as you descend each section. Genius, I know. Must have been built in the summer. I actually like the mounds of snow along the driveway now because at least it keeps us from sliding off the edge and into the woods (or through the horses’ paddock to which they might take offense). And yes, if we want to turn around, we have to go out to the main road, pull out on it, back up and head back in the driveway. </p>
<p>Ice is the worst however. I can manage to creep down the hill on the snow. There is no creeping with ice. We just don’t go anywhere until we can get it melted somehow. </p>
<p>H works for a wimpy college that cancels at the smell of snow in the air - not a tough school like Garland’s! So at least he is home to work on snow and ice removal. But to those who lament the loss of tuition money on cancelled classes, H doesn’t cancel any classes, he just has the students check in online and has either readings, videos, discussions or whatever is appropriate for that day.</p>
<p>And I know this snow is too much because even our ST. BERNARD has had it :). Much too hard for her to walk through the snow and none of the trails she and H walk on have been touched.</p>
<p>I really feel for all of you. I am in my late 50s, and decided about 4 years ago that at retirement I was not going to live where there are harsh winters. That means snow and cold to me.</p>
<p>Here in the Midwest we haven’t had it as bad as you out east, but I hate it nonetheless. We are now under a warning for our worst storm of the season. If the models hold up it will be about a foot in my area, + whatever the lake decides to give us. </p>
<p>Only three more years!!</p>
<p>Snow Policy at my retail store (in the snow band in Connecticut) </p>
<ol>
<li><p>If Starbucks is closed, we close. If Starbucks doesn’t open, we don’t have to either. If have only known them to not open once in the past 10 years. That was last week (or was it the week before. All this snow is running together!)</p></li>
<li><p>So … generally speaking you are expected to show up. Someone has to, to feed the animals. If you don’t show up, you will lose the hours and you don’t get paid for the snow day. Figure out how to get out your driveway. </p></li>
<li><p>High school part-timers. If your parents don’t want you driving, neither do I. Please stay home, as we probably won’t be that busy. NB The hours cannot be “made up.”</p></li>
<li><p>Lateness is excused. We know about the traffic. If you can’t get here, the customers can’t either! NB: Lateness is NOT excused when the travel is not treacherous.</p></li>
<li><p>“Snow bonuses” are randomly awarded for exceptional dedication in the face of impossible weather conditions. (In one storm, one worker was stuck on 84 for 2 hours going home. He got a bonus. He also got first dibs on early departure for the next storm.)</p></li>
<li><p>You may ask to leave early due to weather conditions – and if the work is done, please go home. Especially the teens.</p></li>
</ol>
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<p>Brilliant!</p>
<p>AllThisIsNews, this is how we do it at my company (I work for a huge corporation).</p>
<p>If we “close” for snow (happened twice last year for the first time in about a decade in my office) then you are paid for your snow day and don’t use any vacation time. Everyone is expected to show up however many people call out. If we open and you don’t come in at all then you just used 8 hours out of your paid time off bank. (We don’t have vacation days, personal days, sick days, etc… We just have one giant PTO bank full of hours to use for whatever purposes we want. Example, I currently have 240 hours in my PTO bank which translates to 6 weeks vacation). If we have a late start snow delay, you get paid for the hours you missed due to the late start. If you are able to come in early and work through out the late start you get paid extra for working those hours (this past week they paid 2.5x your salary). Not too many people do that but usually the ones that have 4wd will be seen in the office earning extra money. If it’s a snow situation, you can come in as late as you want and make up the time during the rest of the week. You can also leave as early as you want and make up the time during the rest of the week. If you come in late or leave early and don’t make it up, then you just took those hours out of your vacation bank.</p>
<p>Being retired, I’m very happy I don’t have to get out and shovel at the crack of dawn to get to work, 
but I still have to have the sidewalk clear within 24 hours after the snow stops. Since DH has had two heart attacks and S is away at school, that leaves me to do all of the shoveling (the guinea pig absolutely refuses to help). I’ve had a hellacious case of tennis elbow since we moved here last October, and every time the pain starts to subside it snows again.</p>
<p>I blame S. He promised to keep all of the snow with him down in Virginia, and he’s not keeping his promise! :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Nah…blame my husband. It has snowed EVERY time he has been out of town on business!!</p>
<p>DC area – this was our first big hit of the year. Power was out at our house for two days. House was a toasty 46 degrees Friday am. Went to work and only three electrical plugs in our office worked (the office building was on backup power). We had a rather comical series of extension cords and power strips draped across our cubicles trying to share the juice.</p>
<p>I called PEPCO Wed. night because a power line came down in front of our house (at the bottom of a hill). After 20 minutes of being on hold, I got a live person. She took my address to enter it on her computer. Silence.</p>
<p>Service rep: Ma’am?
Me: Yes?
Service rep: I don’t know how to tell you this. I’m working for the Call Center tonight, but I’m working from my home. My power just went out. I can’t report your problem because my computer died and now I have no electricity. You can try calling the emergency line again and see if you can get someone else who can help you.</p>
<p>Me: Laughing and commiseration – what else could I do?</p>
<p>Earlier in the afternoon, I heard a radio interview with a spokesman for PEPCO talking about how they were expanding their Call Center staff that night in anticipation of the storm. Clearly they didn’t think the whole “work from home” thing through.</p>
<p>DH bought a snow blower after last year’s DC Snowmageddon. He was eagerly looking forward to using it the other night. Problem is, he got an electric snow blower. Spent Thurs. am digging his way out of the driveway so he could go to work.</p>
<p>I used to be the one in my office responsible for deciding whether we would shut down for snow. Worst job ever! Brain surgery must be less stressful. I remember having to close the office for the whole day just once. More typically, the snow would start falling around 2 or 3 pm, and the “first flake” crowd would be in my doorway immediately. Lots of employees lived north of the office, where conditions were often a lot worse. Eventually no one would be doing any work, just staring out the window, calculating the rate of accumulation, looking up road conditions online, checking in with spouses or neighbors for a report on the driveway situation. Since then I’ve had real sympathy for the poor souls who have to make the call at 5 am whether to close the schools for a storm that may or may not hit at noon.</p>
<p>The weather report for Tuesday-Wednesday here in CT is … (drum roll please) … 8 to 12 inches more snow, followed by an inch of rain or freezing rain. Oh joy. Weather service says “hey, you might want to clear the 30+ inches of packed snow from you roof.” NOBODY can hire that done … the local garage had its mechanics up on the roof this morning.</p>
<p>To top things off, I pretty much destroyed my good snow shovel clearing white stuff from the last three storms. I stopped at Home Depot to grab a new one. “No, we don’t have any in the store. We’re supposed to be getting a big shipment this afternoon. But then again, the warehouse has been saying that for the past three days.” Sigh.</p>
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<p>You are lucky. North of Boston, we are supposed to get all snow. As much as 18 inches, non-stop from Tuesday through Wednesday. That means I can’t wait for it to quit to run the snowblower, so I’ll have to be out in it, probably Wed morning, clearing the first half. Once it gets deeper than the top of the snow blower, it really gets to be a challenge.</p>
<p>S1 is supposed to fly into Chicago tomorrow afternoon right about when the storm is supposed to begin. My fingers are crossed, but I went ahead and booked him an Amtrak ticket for Wednesday - just in case. </p>
<p>H is in Boston for a conference and scheduled to come home early Wednesday. He doesn’t want to change his flight so I hope he packed enough undies for an extended visit!</p>
<p>MommaJ I’m laughing at your “first flake crowd” comment. I’m one of the people in our office that has the authority to close early and I know exactly what you mean. Once the snow starts, productivity stops. Every time.</p>