I ran outside with Cooper hot on my tail, and as I fumbled with the frozen extension cord, I swore at the infernal block-heater timer that is the root of all my troubles this morning. If it worked properly, I'd be inside, enjoying a nice hot cup of tea, knowing my car's engine is being warmed. Alas, I pried the end-cap off the block-heater cord on the car with my bare hands, cussing some more. Somethings can't be done with gloves, and this is one of those tasks. The entire process took about 2 minutes, and by the time I ran back to the house, Cooper was already at the front door, waiting. When he came into the house, he promptly sat down, put both his rear paws in the air, and lifted one front paw to boot. I think Cooper thought it was cold this morning, too.
The car started without a problem an hour later, but everything was on slow-motion. The LCD was slow to react, and every belt and fan made a whirr and whizz and squeal. It's almost painful to listen to, actually. I am not sure cars are made to withstand cold like this. The door gaskets sure aren't, nor is the foam in the seats. I could have been sitting on concrete this morning.
I decided to take the back-roads to get to work today, figuring if I ran into car troubles, I'd rather be on a country road with houses nearby, rather than a highway with miles of open field. Once at work, I pulled our recycling bin to the road. The sound of the bin wheels on the snow squeaked at such a high pitch that nails on a chalkboard sound better. Brrrrrrrr...it's a good thing the hairs on the back of my neck were already standing.
Our offices are located in a private house that has been converted into office space. The upside of this is that we're at home, but at the office. Does that make any sense? We have a huge kitchen we can all eat in, and most days we do just that. I consider it a perk, but some people might be put off by that. (Well, they don't work there, what more can I say about that?) When I went to make my morning cup of tea and get the coffee made, there was no water at the kitchen sink. I figured the pipes must be frozen. With a bit of sleuthing, I found that someone had already wrapped the kitchen pipes with two heating cables, and once everything was plugged in, I had water at the kitchen sink a few hours later.
And my boss? He called in to say that his car didn't start this morning, so he stayed home.
Well, the temperature's supposed to rise to a balmy -18C tonight, and I don't think it's my imagination, but it feels warmer outside already. Cooper will be the judge of that tomorrow.
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