On Ice

With any luck, the latest Arctic blast will bring ice to Austin later today. I first became aware of this development last night on the t.v. ticker. The gratuitous map of counties was featured in the bottom left hand corner of my screen. A mass of small geometric shapes was shaded with a nice peach hue contrasting the uniform gray of the rest of the area, presumably to indicate which counties were being referenced in the weather ticker. It's always hard for me to decipher these little jigsaw pieces because I can't really tell to which part of Central Texas they are referring. I've been duped before...the same little shape has appeared and, yet, my county has been spared. Just a few miles up the road, Williamson County is getting dumped upon with sideways rain and high winds and rising creeks while the infinity edge pool at my apartment complex is having a luau and playing Marco Polo. I don't put a great deal of stock in this little map when it comes to planning a day of shut-in, cozy solitude.

Eventually, the ticker began to reveal the relevant counties. I live in Travis County which means, as is the case with nearly all things in my life that are alphabetized, I had to wait. Burnet. Lllano. A-HA! Travis. Yes! One small piece of encouragement, the ticker served as an interpreter for those too challenged to unlock the codes of the handy-dandy map.

Now before you envision me throwing on a jacket and heading to the store at 10:30 pm to procure all the bottled water, non-perishables, and milk (this I have never understood. Milk. If your power has the potential to be zapped and not restored for days, what's with buying milk? I don't get that.) I could load in my VW, let me say that I am only cautiously optimistic. I'm not a chicken little who thinks a few sheets of ice warrant a trip to Home Depot to secure a generator. But I am rethinking happy hour so I have time to swing by the store and assemble a mini-stockpile just in case I find myself trapped on top of the hill where I live.

My initial plan, which was entirely devised to take "precautions", may be altered a bit since I heard this morning on the radio that we have been "upgraded" from a "watch" to a "warning". The term, "wintry mix" has been used several times, as well. That always gets me riled up and, as a result, my grocery list expands a bit. "Wintry Mix". I always thought that sounded like the name of a fancy-pants seasonal cocktail that should be served at the Hay Adams Hotel Off The Record Bar in Washington, DC from November to February. I digress...

Deep down I know this is probably going to amount to nothing, but if you can't get in touch with me tonight, don't come looking for me in the dairy section. Rather, I can probably be found in the battery, candle, and bottled water aisle of WalMart.