Preparing for Snow [Days]

It is a bit pre-mature to think about snow days when next month is April, but since I've been missing snow for more than a year, I believe I am allowed to discuss things while whistling Frosty the Snowman (provided that I could actually whistle).

Snow days are fabulous, treasured opportunities.

Purdue has this wonderful and yet terribly dangerous (I'll get to that) place called Slayter Hill. You will sometimes, no wait, make that most of the time find people have taken trays from the dining halls so that they can enjoy their snow days. Slayter Hill is awesome, but a lot of people have been hurt. You cannot blame the hill itself; you must blame stupidity most of the time. I think that the last one I heard of was some people trying to make a couch slide down the hill. Use Common Sense and stick to sleds, etc. that are quite cheap at the Wal-Mart just north of the golf courses.

More generally, if you're going down the hill, try to avoid collisions; if you're going up the hill, try to make sure no one is headed directly at you. Again, Common Sense.

Oh yes, sorry. I digressed a bit. So Indiana (and many other places) have a few months of snow-slash-ice-slash-hail. What should you have on hand in case that you're snowed into your apartment?

• Flashlight
• A gallon or two of drinkable water
• Dry food (my place had a never-ending supply of cereal)
• A book you've been meaning to read [superfluous, but this is my blog so I can say whatever I want]

A cell phone is always good to have on hand, but usually snow days just means that you have to bundle in 4 or more layers and make snowmen or snow angels.

However, more important that having these things always on hand in the apartment is what you have inside your CAR. I mainly took this list from the DIY network but here it goes:

• Cell phone
• List of important phone numbers
• Bag of sand, salt or kitty litter
• Snow shovel
• Snow brush/Ice -scraper
• Portable battery charger
• Booster cables
• Flares or hazard-reflectors
• Flashlight
• Emergency lights
• Fuel line de-icer
• Windshield-wiper fluid
• Extra antifreeze
• Blanket
• Extra clothing including windproof pants and warm footwear
• First aid kit
• Snack bars and emergency food and water
• Matches and emergency candle
• Road maps or atlas
  

However, Indiana weather wasn't so severe that it requires you to have tire chains - at least, not in my experience around Indianapolis and [West] Lafayette(s).

But most of the time during a snow day, I would snuggle inside my warm and cozy bed or make a nice bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup [chinoosou] and watch TV. That is, unless my friends dragged me out.