What a mess: the conclusion

Well, if you thought Sunday night and Monday morning was an adventure, it was.

But Monday afternoon and evening had some excitement, too.

I monitored the temperatures and the significant amount of moisture/ice/snow on the roads much of the afternoon. They were predicting temperatures to drop to 32 degrees by 6 p.m., and the mess would begin.

Around 5:30, I decided it best to go in search of dinner before the roads became completely impassable and I was forced to risk life and limb trying to walk two blocks to Waffle House. No, I'm not saying I wouldn't have enjoyed Waffle House for the second time in one day, Coffeypot.

A little local place not too far away was open, and it seemed quite busy. After parking, a couple coming out advised me to call my order in before getting in line. Apparently it was taking that long to get through the line. I followed their advice, waited a couple of minutes, then went in to join the line.

Just ahead of me, three idiots walked in - two wearing shorts and one in his pajamas. I desperately tried to get a picture without drawing their attention, but I was unable to do so. How they were not getting frostbite from walking in that weather, I don't know.

About 25 minutes later, I was to the register and, thanks to the suggestion of that nice couple, my food was ready. It wasn't going to require another 15-20 minutes of waiting. Food in hand, I decided to head around the block to the convenience store for some beverages to consume while watching the BCS national championship game. While just two blocks away, it does require going up a small hill from the restaurant.

A car proceeded up the hill ahead of me. I waited until it had turned off the street before starting up. This particular street was still very icy, and I didn't want to risk having 1) the car sliding back down into mine or 2) having to stop.

I started up the hill. As I did, a SUV turned and followed not 20 feet behind me. As I thought to myself, "What an idiot," the wheels started to spin. I was going forward, but not nearly at a pace consistent with how fast the wheels were turning.

Thankfully, I never slipped backward. I'm certain the driver of the SUV was able to hear my tires spinning on the ice, but the SUV never backed off or stopped either. Fortunately, I cleared the hill and was on my way.

The convenience store? Packed. A second convenience store? Closed.

I was out of luck. It was getting slick, so I headed back. There would be no Coors Light this evening; there would just be water.

I ate while watching the game. I occasionally checked the weather as time passed. 8:00 - 33 degrees, 9:00 - 33 degrees, 10:00 - 33 degrees. I thought maybe the one website wasn't updating; I checked others, and they all said 33 degrees.

The game was long over, but I wasn't sleepy. Don't ask why, considering the rough night of sleep I had on Sunday evening (see "What a mess"). Finally, around 1:30, I was getting tired. I checked the weather one last time - still 33 degrees. I hit the couch and slept for a few hours.

It had been shortly before 10:00 that notification had come that work wasn't opening until 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, so I could sleep in.

Or not.

I woke up just before 7:30. I checked the weather, and it said 34 degrees. I checked our website, and we were still opening at 11. I tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail.

So, a full day of work and teaching my class left me pretty exhausted. It was time to venture HOME (finally) after having been away for three days.

NOTE: My apologies for no pictures. I attempted some while out for dinner, but with the darkness and just a 2Mp camera on my phone, they were horrible.

NOTE #2: Congratulations to the Auburn Tigers and the Auburn family. That was a great game. Personally, I was glad to see Chip Kelly's arrogant self lose (anyone else notice his smartass comments during pre-game and halftime?). It's also quite an accomplishment for the back-to-back national champions and the back-to-back Heisman winners to be from my home state.