Why hello Minnesota weather I've been expecting you!!

SNOW!!!!!!! : oD
Some people are not completely 100% HAPPY about the current weather situation, but me!!! I have no words for it!!! We are going to have a white Christmas after all my worrying!!
Yesterday morning I walked to my car in my sweatshirt and slippers to get my cell phone. I went to sleep and woke up at the usual time for work 9:45pm. Not only was it freezing in my room (I disn't turn on the heat yet because I can't breathe in the stuffiness) and when I walked out to start getting my bag packed, I saw the white powder blowin in the wind. At that moment I was pissed because nobody woke me up to tell me that it snowed and that I should leave for work early. But oh well I drive at night so I never have the problems for the main point of this post. I will now box the drivers of Minnesota.

Box #1
Riding a bicycle is apparently something that you never forget how to do. Driving in Minnesota weather for some people can be like that. Some people... like me. I put myself in box 1 because I don't forget about the winter driving. I remember that the curves are the slipperiest especially when covered in snow. I am cautious, but I usually drive on the high and dry at 55, the speed limit. (Normal non winter time of year I have my cruise set at 62.) I do not ride the brakes. If I see a patchy questionable area coming up I don't slam on the brakes. I lift off the gas, but never ever ever slam on the brakes....unless there is a box #2 in front of me.

Box #2
Typically this box includes men 65 and up, and women of all ages. (Not dissing the ladies here, this is just a general observation that I have.) Obviously the 16 and 17 year olds can be in this box because they haven't gotten their MN snow legs (wheels??) These are the people I hate to be stuck behind. These people are the ones that make you wonder if they can get on their bicycle after the long MN winter and remember how to ride it.  We will take the lady I was behind this morning. Her car? Buick Le Sabre. Very new less than 3 years I would guess. I got behind her in St. Cloud. So we were driving in the city where the speed limit was 35. Sigh. She was going 35....sometimes. Mostly when we were driving through patches of snow. At the end of the patch she would slam on her brakes and slow down to 25 and then speed up and slow down and of course SLAM on her brakes a block before the red light she was stopping at. I can understand that you want to slow down before you stop when you are questioning the slipperiness of the road, but that causes me box 1 to have to slam on my brakes which is a huge NO NO! You DO NOT slam on your brakes in questionably cold/snowy/possibly icy road conditions. Box 2 lady that I was behind drove 35 miles an hour at the max even when the speed limit went up to 50 and then 60, even though the road was clear. Sigh, these people don't bother me as much as box #3 people because I can pass them and let them drive "cautiously" all they want.

Box #3
These people drive me CRAZY they are dangerous and reckless and most often the ones that end up in the ditch. Good. They deserve it! As I was driving behind #2, a #3 came up behind me. I should mention I was on a 4 lane road. I was driving behind #2 in the right lane because I always drive in the right lane because I have to turn off of it once I get out of town. Had it not been for all the #3s I would have passed the #2 in a heartbeat. A #3 is usually a man. And most often they are the ones that have the super ginormous 4 wheel drive vehicles. With these large vehicles they gain a kind of cockiness that me in my crusty old Oldsmobile 88 just can't dream to have. So there I was stuck behind #2 and a #3 came roaring up behind me. Why they didn't just go along with the rest of the #3s and pass I don't know. Mr. Cocky in his ginormous Ford supercab pick up truck decided to get on my ass. I of course could not speed up because #2 was just getting out of a snow patch and seeing a red light a mile in front of us so she was slamming on her brakes causing me to slam on my brakes making Mr. Cocky even closer to the back of my car.

Finally after getting away from those nuts, I was on the road alone. Yay for back country roads!! I came upon another #2 and passed her with ease. I had no problems until I was getting closer to Holdingford (my hometown) and it happens to be a really hilly road. So I was cruising along never using the brakes when I come to a snow capped hill and decide after seeing the delivery truck wrapped around a pole that I should keep my foot off the gas while I drive through a 2 inch drift. Well along comes a #3 in all his ginormous Chevy with a yellow snow plow attachment going of course at least 60. This was not the problem, oh no. the problem? I could CLEARLY see the line in the middle of the road marking the divide between MY side and HIS side. Where was he? Halfway on my side! Not only did that piss me off, I had to slam on my brakes!! because the shoulder was 6 or so inches of plowed snow and NO WAY in HELL was I driving into that snow with the chance of getting back on the road that was a direct route to the ditch along with all its wonderful drifts. The other #1 in front of me not only nearly got clipped by this jackass, they swerved and luckily kept themselves out of the drifty snowy ditch of hell. Did this man slow down?? No. Driving like a psycho I saw him continue to own both sides of the road through my rear view window. Sigh.... Minnesota winter is great. Driving in a Minnesota winter SUCKS!

I would like to throw out my safe travel wishes to all the expats returning to the US for the holidays and especially to the expats returning from Chile! Fly safe!