Tonight, I did something I hadn't expected to be doing, not only because I'd called out of work feeling sick today, but strange as a whole. I went to Derek's for some anime, but that wasn't it, though at one point I was fairly certain I wasn't going to his place. No, in fact, I've just come back from his place and I've since done that which I did not expect.

I shoveled. This is not to say that living in a Canadian city, I expect not to have to lift and chuck the white stuff. No, this is simply not what I expected to do ... as a tenant. My landlord, bless his rent-nagging heart, does do a very good job of keeping the sidewalk and paths around my place nice and clear. Unfortunately, between he and my anal neighbours (the ones that don't like cats), and ESPECIALLY the dreaded snow plow, Scarlette had been fairly snowed in. Now, she's an old fashioned four-wheel-drive and I know she can handle snow. That said, even a four-wheel-drive will have trouble when the snow is higher than the tires. On the street side, where the plow had passed, she was surrounded by a bank near 45cm deep (um, about a foot and a half). That's a lot of half frozen snow to move.

I was going to just leave it, but then I thought that if the sky decided to keep doing what it was doing, ie., snowing, there was no way I'd want to be stuck in an emergency with even more bank and drift boxing Scarlette in. So, ever since driving into a ditch a couple of winters ago, there's been a snow shovel in my trunk, but I've never had the occasion to use it. I could have used it that night in the ditch, but it was only that event which taught me the importance of trunk shovels. This is a short shovel, a short handle with a small scoop, but the perfect size for digging into the banks built up between cars. And digging I did ! Let me say this: I am WAY out of shape.

My intention was not to dig her out completely, as that would take probably over an hour, and as it stands, I worked for twenty minutes, sweating for at least ten of those. I dug out three out of four wheels (one was blessedly clear - I guess the plow driver got careless) and then proceded to dig out the front half of the car on the driver's side. I also cleared out about half of the substantial bank between mine and the car in front, tossing that onto the cat-hating neighbour's lawn and out into the street. Finally, when I thought my sides were going to burst, I just stomped in the snow and broke it up with the shovel so that Scarlette's tires could gain purchase. The final test was to try to escape. I shoveled off the car and then, entering by the passenger's side (yes, of course the driver's side key hole was frozen), I turned her on. Throwing her into "Lo" range four-wheel-drive, in other words, the more powerful range in which you have to use the low gears, I put her in reverse and hit the gas.

God bless my car. Scarlette leapt to life. It's a surprise to feel the difference between two- and four-wheel-drive, and many SUVs and such are in all-wheel mode all the time so you never feel the 'rush'. I threw her in first and we roared out of the snowbank into the street. Then, just to see if I could find a clearer parking spot, because I'm a selfish girl like that, I cruised around a little. I passed a Cadillac higher up on Greenlaw that was stuck in less snow than remained in my old spot and briefly considered offering my shovel. Passing them by, I ended up putting Scarlette back into the spot I'd pulled her from and did a strategicallly better parking job that left me more room for error at the front. I again considered helping the Cadillac as its tires spun, but feeling the effects of an asthma attack and my pants covered in snow, I opted to come in here and write about my little adventure instead.

I really do love the winter.