Annual Ice Storm - Memphis' White Christmas

It's time for our annual Memphis ice storm, and as usual it's a good one. I skidded home at around 4:00 this afternoon in a steady falling sleet, after having driven for an hour behind a woman in a minivan who seemed to enjoy piling up cars behind her in the ice and snow so that she could hit her brakes in every turn and on every downhill. You know, the times in which hitting your brakes on ice is generally the worst possible thing to do and forces everyone behind you to either hit theirs, too, or hit you. I was all for the hitting her part, but unfortunately I was 2 cars back and flying along at 10 mph.



I did notice, as I finally got to pass her at that brief 4 lane section of Forest Hill Irene, that she sped up faster than she had driven the entire time, reaching perhaps 30 mph, in an effort to block out all the cars trying to get the hell away from her. Three of us escaped before the road returned to being only one lane each direction. Then she quickly slowed down again, using her brakes, I'm sure, and went back to tormenting the hundreds of freezing cold people piling up behind her in the slick ice.



I don't know where Ass Rider Boy went to, but I think this woman must be his mother. I know she is someone's mother. She reminds me of my own mother. She is a real mother, that's for sure.



Can you say 'passive aggressive?' I knew you could.



There is definitely something about a sudden freeze that makes people irritable and cranky. Even my cats were beating the hell out of each other when I got home.



Anyway, as I was driving in the slick ice and bad traffic My Boss called me on my cell phone. Yes, not just once but 3 times. I answered the first time, skidding around with only one hand on the wheel and now diverted concentration, but when he didn't actually have a reason for calling I decided that perhaps he wanted to see if he could hear a live car crash through his cell phone and just maybe I should let him call someone else instead of me. I let it ring from then on and kept my focus on the icy road.



I'd also like to mention the fabulous Memphis radio stations, not one of which was offering any sort of traffic report during this massive storm. Oh, there was plenty of talking, but nothing about the many, many accidents and blocked intersections that freezing travelers might want to avoid. Not a single, solitary one.



After I had been home awhile I called My Boss to ask him about The Culmination of My Project and the way he seemed to take every single bit of the credit and give none to me. He assured me that everyone up the chain was fully aware of what a great job I'd done and that there would be some sort of reward down the line.



Here's the dilemma: do I believe him and ignore my gut feeling that I'm getting screwed or do I try to take matters into my own hands as I've already tried unsuccessfully to do thus far? Or do I try to find someone I can trust at The Bank and consult with them about this?



Trust is a very hard thing to find in a large company, as I learned the hardest possible way after dealing with the Most Evil Living Being I've Ever Met In My Life when I worked at The Large Memphis Express Shipping Company. Yes, I got 'Robbied' there and I have no intention of ever allowing such a thing to happen to me again.



I already tried briefly consulting with The Very Important Female Executive Vice President about my desire to make the most of my recent success, but I got a definite impression that she had already made something of an alliance with My Boss and thus worried that I might be somehow maneuvering around him. So I took what advice I could get and moved on.



I later talked to My Executive Vice President about my desire to take my victory and spring to something more. He couldn't offer me much, he said. I later learned that he has been promoted to the number 3 spot in the company and thus has quite a lot on his mind which I'm sure is more important to him than my career concerns. He moved to Birmingham today, house, family and everything. I was lucky to have gotten in to see him at all. Perhaps he'll at least remember my name? Maybe one day he will remember what I'd said and give me a chance? Who knows?



Anyway, it's presently 21 degrees in Memphis and the ground is frozen and white. Snow is predicted to cover the ice tomorrow. The roads are probably not going to be passable. My Boss already said that I should not anticipate coming in to work. Nothing is predicted to thaw until after Christmas, which is probably about the time that the mother in the minivan will finally arrive home.



Oh by the way, unlike Ass Rider Boy I see this same woman in traffic every single day. She's always like this.

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