We got ample warning so we came to work prepared. Alan and I were unanimous that it was best that Angelo stayed home. I would actually have worked from home had it not been that the boss’s holiday luncheon was scheduled for today. Miss any party BUT that! (Try disappearing when it’s a party of 10 and you happen to be the Executive Assistant to the host.) But an hour before when the snow was falling full force, she asked me to poll the other people joining us because she was afraid to impose on anyone when people might’ve preferred to head home. The decision was to cancel.
After wrapping up at work, I picked up a small cup of soup to have on the bus ride home. I didn’t want to waste any time eating lunch when I could be heading to my part of Bayside. The snow was falling heavily and I didn’t want to get caught stuck on the bus crawling through the highways. I couldn’t resist walking up to snap some pictures of my beloved Bryant Park. Walking back to line up for my bus, I couldn’t help but think about what an adventure it would be to photograph Central Park in the middle of the storm.
The way the wind and the snow changes the landscape in big bold strokes during a storm, playing up light and shadow as it coats the things that stand in its way can be mesmerizing. More so when you’re used to viewing the landscape a certain way, and you see it differently when it’s coated in white.
I stood under my umbrella, parying the strong winds and the heavy snowfall. I was bundled up and my pants were tucked inside my boots but it still felt cold. The usual one hour trip just took a little under an hour and a half, as the bus was understandably cautious in the slippery mush on the roads.
I like freshly fallen snow. Virginal, some would say — when your feet are the first making footprints in that smooth carpet of white. It’s nice to look at, but walking on snow can be difficult when it’s thick enough to affect your depth perception. Imagine yourself walking in floodwaters guessing where the sidewalk begins and ends. I finally got home and have been keeping warm indoors. It’s just the start of a stormy weekend. I spent the afternoon just enjoying Angelo. I worked part of the afternoon in return for the consideration extended by the boss, letting us off early when most of the company stayed for the rest of the workday.
Dinner tonight is adobo. Plain for my mother-in-law and spicy adobo flakes for Alan. Tonight, I’m finishing my Christmas cards. (That’s another blogpost altogether.) Stay warm…
Pinay New Yorker 