Stupid snow

So I was supposed to be in Chicago this weekend; helping my mother shop for her wedding dress, hanging out with friends for St. Patrick's Day, and having brunch with two of my aunts. But I was in New York. This big ass storm hit the city for Friday, and only Friday. I was flying JetBlue, and because of their recent bad publicity they hastily went ahead and cancelled all the flights out of the airport. At first I was just cursing JetBlue specifically, but then JFK closed later that day so I had to remove some of the blame to split it with the airport itself. Even though I was pissed and disappointed that my flight was cancelled, JetBlue was good about changing my flight. They wouldn't rebook me on the first flight out Saturday morning because the storm was supposed to continue, so they re-booked for the exact same flights for next weekend. Of course when I woke up Saturday morning the snow had already begun to melt, the sun was shining and the flights did take off. But there was no way to know that was going to be the case.

It certainly was a big storm, but O'Hare wouldn't have closed. O'Hare knows how to handle the snow. The rest of Chicago does too. New York has some real problems with snow management. There are clearly not enough plows, salt, sand and people to get it off the streets and sidewalks in any way. Eventually they get the main streets plowed, but then the snow just builds up on the corners and you end up stepping in massive puddles of slush, ice and freezing water. And the subway steps are the worst. The entrances, even at the most crowded stations, have snow covered stairs. I'm just waiting to see someone absolutely bail, crash down the stairs and take 10 people with them because of this. It's really not safe.

When my friend Megan told me that I would need to get wellies for living in New York I wasn't so sure. Now I am. You have no idea what kind of puddle you are stepping in or how deep it will be, and the only way to be sure your feet will stay dry is with ugly solid rubber "boots" that go up to your knees.

Speaking of Megan, here she is, with me at some bar on the Upper East Side on St. Patrick's Day. Since I didn't make it to Chicago she invited me out with her boyfriend and some of his friends. I got a pretty late start on the festivities, but it was a good time. I always have a good time with Megan, she's swell.

The bagpipe players below were part of our entertainment at the bar. On my way there I was sitting near a guy on the subway wearing a kilt. He was an attractive, very normal looking guy... except that he was wearing a kilt. I was dying to ask him if his legs were cold, but I didn't. I figured he already knows everyone is looking at him, he doesn't need me asking him about it. And I'm not a big fan of talking to strangers. My parents told me not to do that, and clearly it stuck.