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The first thing that struck me when I left the condo was a large embankment of snow that was blocking the driveway that lead onto one of the streets. The snow plows must have come by during the night after the storm and piled up this snow (which was about thirty centimeters high) and nobody had cleared a path through it yet. I still had my summer tires (which are technically all season tires) on, but I did not trust their traction on snow or ice. So I was a little worried that I might get stuck on top of the embankment. Since I was in a rush, I decided to just drive over it and force the car through. Fortunately (since I had stopped just before the barrier) I was able to gather enough momentum to plow through the snow and get myself onto the road.
The roads were a little slippery and traffic was slow. To make things worse, cars were parked on the side of the road overnight, so the plows had to go around them, causing the normally four lane road to narrow to a single lane in each direction. In addition, it had started to snow again while I was driving down to my first destination: the flea market where those phone cards were being sold.
I had no trouble finding the flea market, although the traffic was terrible. Most of the roads were still full of snow. Some were only partially plowed, and on the side streets with speed bumps, I barely even noticed the car shudder at the impact with the retardation devices. Not a safe situation.
I wandered around the flea market for about fifteen minutes before finding the booth where the phone cards were sold (it was right in the middle actually - I was surprised I did not notice it before as I had to ask for directions). I found out that I could pay for the cards at a discount! No wonder why it was suggested that I go there to pick them up. I bought four. Hopefully it will last until MJNL gets back.
When I got back to my car, Nearly an hour had already passed, and I was getting worried that I might be getting home a little late. The snow had really started coming down again, and the roads were pretty treacherous. I still was fairly fearless despite my slippery tires until I stopped for a red light and the ABS activated. I was about six car lengths from the intersection, but there was nothing else I could do but keep pressing the brakes. The lights were red when I slowly sailed through. I was quite lucky that the traffic on both sides did not try to enter the intersection while I was trying to stop. They must have thought that I was some crazy Chinese driver who did not know how to drive in the winter in my sports car (Well, I guess that is not far from the truth) and played it safe. By the time the car came to a halt, I was pretty much through the intersection so I just continued on through.
I reached my next destination soon enough: Canadian Tire. I wanted to pick up some really cheap DVD-Rs and a gift. I found something for the gift, but they were out of DVD-Rs. I wanted to take a rain check, but I was supposed to get it from customer service and I found that out when I was cashing out. So I brought the stuff I bought to the car, headed back in to get the rain check, and came back out to the car. By now the precipitation was starting to turn to freezing rain, and I was cutting it close for the party.
I still had one more destination to go before I headed back home: The salon. I needed a hair cut - bad. So I went to get my hair cut. I figured that with the terrible weather, the salon would be empty, but no, the place had quite a number of people in it. By the time I was done, it was already two, and I got a call from AC asking me where my condo was. Fortunately, I was able to tell him to postpone his arrival for an hour. I also got a call from EK as well, and I was able to stave him off for an hour as well.
The drive back was slow, but steady and (mostly) safe. I figured that after my ordeal that afternoon that I would not be driving out to Milton for badminton that night.
