Yay, it's a snow day for me. This has caused me to wonder what you all do when you've got a day inside. Do you play "winter music", like 808s and Heartbreak, or Liquid Swords? Do you grab a cup of hot chocolate and sit back for a movie? Catch up on games you haven't been playing?
I'm doing a few of those things: Finally playing Starbound for a while with a cup of hot cocoa in tow, and Because the Internet is a rather Winter-ish album. So how about you?
Snow days for me have pretty much been the same for me since I was 5(minus the beer) Step 1: Wake up way too early and notice it's snowing. Step 2: Try to go back to sleep and don't actually fall back asleep cause I'm so excited Step 3: Wait till 11am to text all of my friends to somehow get over to my house Step 4: Get dressed and play in the snow for a few hours with/without friends Step 5: Realize that I'm not dressed appropriately for snow and decide that I'm freezing Step 6: Potential frostbite looming, go inside and drink hot cocoa, watch a movie, take a nap, have a beer or two Step 7: Get sick because I was out in the snow for too long without proper clothing
I live in Minnesota and own a home, and as such, I really don't get the day off and it generally just means some more work. When it's bad though, I can "telecommute" from home, and stay in my PJs, make some coffee, and work from home, which is very relaxing. Either before or after work or both, I have to shovel or blow my driveway and sidewalk. Yesterday we got quite a bit of snow here in the Twin Cities, our first significant snowfall. Got about 6" where I am, which is nothing for us (They got two feet up North in Duluth). But enough that I still decided to break out the snow blower. It wouldn't start, despite my anal spring maintenance I did. Couldn't get the spark plug out, so I ran to home depot to get a better spark plug socket, because all I had was one of those shitty tube spark plug tools with the bar. Got a real socket for it. Got home popped it out, yup, plug was wet and dirty. Put a new spare I had in. Still wouldn't start, not even trying to start. Drained the carb, took it apart, cleaned it, put it back together, put it back on the engine. Primed it twice, yanked the cord, and she started on the first pull. Was probably the most satisfying feeling I've had in recent memory. This is post maintenance victory: This is how my cats spent the snow day: Notice the lack or ornaments on the lower half of my tree... lazy jerks. Oh, I also like taking shots of hard alcohol on snow days since I won't be driving anywhere or doing anything. As tradition I take a shot (or two) before and after snowblowing my driveway or shoveling anything. It keeps the tummy warm.
In college, a snowday often meant day drinking+activity. I remember one blizzard that started coming down just as the restaurant I worked at was closing. It was coming down really hard, so we all (I think it was about 9 people) tramped across the street to my house and just hung out, watching movies until the next evening. At one point, someone went out to get some food for all of us, but the only thing open was a Dunkin' Donuts. A bunch of post-work restaurant rats fed on nothing but DDs for a day doesn't smell too good, but it was a good time anyway.
You're in Colorado too, eh? I was shocked that my kids didn't have a snow day. I got to come to work anyway… :-( For me, snow days are best spend under a blanket with some cocoa, my wife, and a ton of movies on tap. I'm waiting for the day when a snow day traps all of my kids at grandmas...
perfect snow days for me: - being huddled in a pillow fort chain-watching a t.v. show - bundling up and going sledding with some friends (if there's a decent hill nearby) - playing music, either guitar or double bass. friends encouraged, but not strictly necessary - making home-made spaghetti sauce (roasting the veg, etc) for all events, Hot chocolate or Tea are mandatory until evening, then some sort of potent potable (personal choice)
I'm sort of in the midst of one today too, but I was planning to skip everything anyway because I was so behind on my term paper. Now I'm not, and it's only 2 pm, and for the last half-hour that's meant hubski and a large pesto fettuccine dish.
Sleep in and then catch up on whatever I've been wanting to do. EDIT: Forgot to mention, a couple years back I had a snow day on my birthday. First time my college had had a snow day in 20 years. I promptly got shit faced and had a blast.
Snow days? I don't understand... On the rare occasion that it does snow in the Seattle area I don't do much. If I can manage to get out of my driveway I'll simply drive around. One of my best snow days was two years ago. I drove around for a while and finally went to my college. In the abandoned parking lot I drove like crazy, did donuts, practiced my mad drifting skills and tried to not get my car stuck. It was a lot of fun.