Ahira's Hangar

Glad you found some good guys, MsMary.
It's my impression that there are many shady types in the home repair/renovation trade who won't hesitate to scam homeowners (and that's just in Canada).

Have a safe drive, duchess!
Always sad to hear about senseless deaths like the one you mentioned.

Wasn't too bad - the strong winds won't be stating up until 0600 or so, so I only had to deal with a lot of snow. In a Jeep, everything went OK. Just drove home at about 25MPH, and in the middle of the night not too many other people out and about.

Glad things are going well with the leaky roof MsMary!

Flurries predicted in the rural areas of Gator Town tonight.

Yes, the Deep South is getting snow today - delays at Mobile airport due to snow. Not much snow, six or fewer inches, but I think that they do not have any snow removal equipment that far south whatsoever?

Sweltering here the last couple of days.

--A

DC is *still* digging out from last week's snowstorms. It's been madness around here. Several school districts actually put a call out over the weekend for parents to come and help clear the sidewalks around the schools and bus stops, so the kids didn't have to walk in the street to get to school/catch the bus.

I *had* to go in to work last Friday -- it was my last day before sabbatical started and so I had to: a) show up; b) finish a bunch of housekeeping junk I could've done the week before the snow hit but, hey, I had another week of work. Metro was not yet running out to my usual stop, but HOV restrictions had not been lifted on the expressway that would've gotten me to the next closest stop that *was* open. So I drove in to work. Along with all the other poor saps who had to be at work on time but who couldn't get to a Metro stop. It took me three hours to get to work. I was nearly in tears by the time I got there. Luckily the firm let me use "planned PTO" (i.e., it didn't count against me that I was late), but jeez, what a way to start your last day for two months...

Ali, sounds like a snowy slushy nightmare!

It wasn't even the slush, Duchess -- it's that the DC government still hasn't cleared all the travel lanes downtown. On Friday, we watched people parking on Pennsylvania Ave. in a travel lane because the parking lane was a snowbank....

Oh, for most companies in America being late is a huge sin that will get your pay or your leave docked, and if it happens often enough can get you fired~!

Nuts.
Guess that company's philosophy is that rules and regulations trump compassion.
Any particular reason why the company's name wasn't mentioned?

My company thankfully isn't draconian about punctuality. There are always a few days every month in which I end up arriving late. And really, I rarely come in right on the buzzer every day. I'm sorry, but I refuse to be that anal about being on time. Besides, I'm usually the last one to leave at the end of the day. In fact, I've stayed past my "official" working hours more times that I can remember. I've racked up serious overtime over the years.

I'm not that anal about being on time either, and the firm isn't as draconian as some (obviously -- boy, that company in your neck of the woods, Menolly, sounds like it would be a joy to work for...). We have a ten-minute "grace period", and I have even fudged it later than that on the theory that I spent at least that much time answering e-mails on the Blackberry before I got in the car...

Friday was just frustrating because the traffic was so bad. Once I got on the GW Parkway, I never got the car higher than second gear. Just maddening.

Anyway, I'm feeling much better now...