D.C.'s first blizzard of 2010

Kathryn Yao

On Friday, Feb. 5, I planned to not go back to the house I currently live in. It's because I don't get Internet at home. But, I couldn't stay at work because of "freaky liability issues" and I didn't want to pay one hundred a night to stay at a nearby hotel.

Before it got late and the snow was too thick to drive through, I made it home. My landlord's daughter asked me if I was ready for the blizzard and I nonchalantly said I wasn't. And, I really wasn't.

While watching Wet Hot American Summer, the electricity went out in the house. After adjusting to the darkness, candles were found and lit.

"Buzzkill!" my landlord's daughter said.

This meant the research I did for school may have been for nothing. I researched on the Internet and saved what I found so I could work on my laptop at the house. Now, I didn't even want to start up my laptop in case I'd be stuck in the house for longer than just the weekend.

My landlord was freaking out. She said things like when the heat goes out, it takes approximately three hours before everyone freezes. She mentioned going to a hotel and her daughter and I were asking how we could even get to another place with the snow already piled at least one foot.

Oh yeah. I was in the middle of drying my first load of laundry and I had a second load waiting in the washer. The first load was still very damp.

It was late enough that we could all turn in for the night and enjoy the last remnants of the heat. Even with the electricity running and the "heat" on, the house is usually very chilly and living here means wearing many layers of clothes.

The next morning, I turned my table lamp on. Nothing. Darn.

While I was going down the stairs, my landlord called me. "We're toast." I told her she was fine and I was fine. She continued with "Without heat, I can't even make coffee." I just told her to drink something else.

Later on in the day, I decided to go outside and shovel the snow off the front steps. It started getting dark, but I'd be cold inside the house anyway. Maybe you don't realize what losing electricity really means. Food that needs heat to be cooked can't be made and eaten, food in the fridge will go bad at a faster rate, even more layers of clothes, and if you really need to get something done, you have to hurry and do it before the sun sets.

Spent one and a half hours doing the steps. Went back in. And then decided I should get a bag of snacks from my trunk so I walked in waist-deep snow to my car. When I got there, I wasn't sure if the car was mine. Ended up spending five hours on my car and when I finally got to my trunk, the ice had sealed it shut. But I figured out a way.

My landlord's daughter was worried about me because her mom locked the front door and she thought I froze to death not too far away. She sent a neighbor to look for me. He startled me when he called my name. It didn't help that the lights were all out, even the lamps outside.

Walked back. Finally felt the melted snow and ice covering my legs and feet. Frozen. Thank God I took a chance with the shower. Yes! Hot water.

My body felt the soreness even before I went to bed. Woke up many times during the night. One of those times was when the heat came back on. It was around 4 a.m., I was told.

The electricity came back on around 6 p.m. the night before, but false alarm. Oh yeah, I had to hang my damp clothes all over my room. The false alarm prompted me to put my laundry back in the dryer. That only lasted for 15 minutes.

Today, in the early evening, the lights flickered and we kept our fingers crossed. Well, my landlord's daughter said, "No! No! Please! Don't do this to me again!"

I'm just really happy the roads are clearing up and I got most of my car out of the snow. I'm exhausted and the muscles have been overworked. We all learned to live without and I'm more prepared for the next time I lose more than mobility.

Another thing: snow is overrated.