Dec 08 2009
So here I am, perched between cosy environs of home AND of the office, sitting in my 2000 Corolla (how I bought it could be one of my other blog entries).
Hmm, when times are good and weather is balmy, the 6.5 mile stretch is a real stress-buster: cruising at 55 mph and quickly unwinding. (I am talking about Office to home, not the other way around! (Let me be clear and thereby, safe). Listening to local news on AM or good ol’ Bollywood songs, the stretch always seems to end before it started…
Not today.
Today, there is a snow storm raging since morning, all-eager to cover the city with snow. And to make my driving a life-saving exercise!
Did I mention this is Minnesota where weather can be as brutal as any extremist outfit… unrelenting, ever-morphing and demanding!
For starters, the Corolla, is a Front wheel Drive, which is anyways not much helpful driving on snowy roads. But when I saw even the “All wheel drive” SUVs “skiing” over a sloped road, I knew this won’t even be a factor today.
To add to that, I am not even close to being a seasoned driver. Having learned how to drive just two months ago does not actually inspire confidence.
So, I started.
4:27 pm- The Corolla begins to roll. The wheels decide to skid, just a bit, to coax me out of any laziness.
4:37- I drop off my colleague at his residence which is just the next block from office. Needless to say, he wished me luck! Go Slow, he says, nobody’s gonna honk at you today. Good.
4:40- First of the many things I learned: It is difficult to stop a car if you don’t keep at least two-car distance from the car ahead. I am trying to do just that when a public transit bus popped in front of me. Seems, the heavier the vehicle, the longer it takes to move one. It is a long wait trying to get on the Highway. The car tries many times to spinout of the lane but relented just about to stay put.
4:45- I am on 55 now. That my office is on 55 does not help the fact that it took 18 minutes to get on it.
4:46- Another advice pops up in my mind. Another colleague of mine, my driving guru, once said “Follow the car in front of you, keep three-car distance, keep both hands on steering and you will reach destination in one piece” . What I did not know was that a gust of blizzard could still topple my car over anytime. Ignorance is bliss, they say.
4:58 – I am praying for more Red signals on the way. At least that will make people move slow to stop ahead.
4:59 – 'You know, there are a lot of things which go past us, lots of opportunities, good people etc when we are moving too fast in life or just not paying attention'. While I am driving, I can see many good places and shops which I have missed on other days. Philosophical. And I know it was time to switch to Hindi songs on my stereo. Very carefully.
5:04 – Traffic is so slow; I can even study the concrete design underneath a flyover while passing below it. Phew!
5:16 – It is good to know that the car following me (also at 3- car distance) seems not in a hurry.
5:20 – Ah..some empty space, at last. Should I drive fast? I choose not to. A minivan on the other side has just expressed its desire to leave the road. The driver doesn’t show any emotions. No surprises.
5:23 – I have to turn out from 55 now. And the inner lanes are the trickier part. I tread slower than ever, letting accelerator go. Ambulances and police cars pass by. Busy day.
5:24 – I am home and it is good to be here. 57 minutes for a 10 minute stretch. So what! I survive to Drive another day.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=829945&catid=391
“The Minnesota State Patrol says the state's first blast of winter is a factor in 750 accidents over the past 24 hours.”
