My Bout With Jack Frost (but he hasn't seen the last of me...)

While most of you guys are at home sleeping and waiting to see if your school/business is closed or delayed, there's a group of people that go to work before sunrise to make sure you stay in the know. That's where I come in. Or at least...where I'm supposed to.

My job this morning was to make sure you see the lovely KTAB reporters that freeze their tails off to give you a live report on the weather and road conditions. Little did I know that I would be the one left to freeze...with no lights or cameras. (By the way, while I was writing this blog, the power in my apartment suddenly shut off, so I know this day is off to a great start.)

I got a call from my boss saying I needed to be in around 6 o' clock. Sure!

I hopped out of bed, got ready, headed out the door, unlocked my car with a press of a button, started to pull the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge! No biggie. I'll just go back in my apartment and get some water and an ice scraper.

Take two: Armed with my water bottle and a scraper, I started to tackle my ice problems again. I watered down my door and chipped off some ice, but still no progress. You can't beat me, Jack Frost, I'll just open up one of the other three doors and slide my way to the driver's seat. But first, I needed to retreat back into my apartment because the bitter cold plus my wet hands and clothes equaled what felt like a frost bite.

Take three: With my gloves in tow and a fresh batch of water, I started to water down all of my doors. Scrape, scrape, chip, chip...STILL NOTHING?!?? At that point, I felt a bit perturbed because I've already seen three other people go to their cars, get in with ease, and drive off into the darkness. (Mind you, because of where I parked, each driver had to blast their headlights at me while I tried to avoid looking foolish). Mr. Frost was making a joke out of me, so I had to regroup and run back into my apartment. Plus, I couldn't feel my fingers or toes again.

Take four: About 25 minutes had passed since my first try. I called my boss to let her know why I was running late (which I'm sure sounded more like "my doggie ate my homework"). When I hung up the phone, my de-icing routine turned into 'Operation Open Up.' Ice scraper? check! More water? check! Let's do this!

My original "scrape, scrape, chip, chip" turned into "scrape, chip, kick, hit, kick, scream!"

With numb fingertips, a possible bruised hip, and a slightly damaged paint job, I got a call from my boss.

"Hello? Umm...yeah....still can't get in. No, I'm still outside of my apartment. Alright." ::click:: She told me to give it up and go back inside.

Oh the shame! I'm not that worker who calls in! I usually pull off any situation, but the ice on my car today was no joke (and what's crazy is that the roads around my area had no serious ice issues). Oh well, I guess there's always a lesson with each passing day.

Prior to this incident, I'd hear about freezing temperatures and think everyone was just overreacting. "What's a few hours of cold weather gonna do?" Now I'm starting to think the weather people actually know what they're talking about.

Just wish I didn't have to learn it this way....