February Snow Day

After January's snow storm, I thought we were finished with the snow for 2014's winter season.  Most years, I would have been right.  This year I was wrong.  After two inches of snow crippled Atlanta in January, snow struck again two weeks later.  This time, Atlanta was prepared.

When the forecasts first mentioned snow in February, everyone went into preparation mode.  Of course, the grocery store shelves were raided for all perishable items.  There was no milk, bread, or eggs to be found.  Luckily, we were prepared and didn't have to raid the grocery store with the rest of Atlanta.

We headed home on February 11 knowing we would likely be home for two to three days.  Justin and I were prepared to work from home during this time.

The storm started with frozen rain and ice falling for most of February 12.  When I walked outside with the dogs, I heard what sounded like something sizzling.  It was itty bitty pieces of ice hitting trees, bushes, and houses.  We stayed inside except to run outside with the dogs so they could potty.

Cabin fever didn't kick in until the second day.

We woke up to a one to two inch coating of snow on most everything.

Oddly enough, the snow didn't last too long.  By midday, the snow was really melting.

The roads were mostly wet, but there were still some icy patches in areas.  By late afternoon, most of the snow was gone.

 Justin and I spent both days working from home, but by the end of the second day, we were beginning to annoy each other.  I was grouchy and Justin was chasing the dogs and me around the house with his remote control helicopter.

We managed to be cordial to each other through Thursday night and I went to the office on Friday (Valentine's Day!).  Justin chose to work from home again, which is where he is most productive.  It was very nice being out of the house.  I wish I could have done something other than go to work, but work was fine, as long as I was out of the house!  Those nine hours away from the house worked wonders for me.  I was so happy to see my hubby when I got home that afternoon.

Atlanta recovered much more quickly after February's snow storm than it did after January's storm.  Things were back to normal by Saturday.  Since then, we've managed to avoid any other winter weather problems.  Now that we're in mid-March, I imagine we're probably finished with the threats of winter weather.

January Snow Day

I'm sure you've heard about the day two inches of snow pretty much brought Atlanta to a halt.  Some referred to this day as Snowmageddon 2014.  Atlanta provided late night shows with quite a bit of material for days.  We even made SNL!

For me, the day started like any other day.  I headed to work after running through McDonald's to get my Egg White Delight.  I knew they were predicting snow, but honestly didn't think it would happen since it feels like snow is part of Atlanta's weather forecast every winter day and it happens about 0.1% of the time.

I have a window in my office, so I was watching the weather happen.  Around noon, the flurries started, the state sent home their employees, schools closed, and then the chaos started.  After about an hour, it was snowing pretty heavily.

 

After a couple of hours, snow was accumulating near the building, but not out in the parking lot.  I can see GA-400 and I-285 from my office.  Both were parking lots by early afternoon.

 

About four hours after the snow started, it was accumulating in my office's parking lot.

 

 

That's my little black car second from the left.

 

There were still a handful of us in the office at this point.  I knew I needed to get home, but I knew traffic was bad and I didn't want to sit on the road forever.  I did what most people on the roads wanted to do.  I had a cocktail.

 

 

I didn't drink the whole bottle.  There was just enough left for one beverage.  Yes, please.

 

I continued working for another hour and then decided it was time to call it a day.  I packed up and walked to my car.  The parking lot was pretty much a sheet of ice, so I walked very carefully.

 

Once I exited our office's parking lot, I knew I was in for a wild ride home.  There were cars everywhere.  Apparently the rules of the road do not apply when it's snowing.  People were ignoring traffic lights, intersections, and lanes.

 

After sitting for about thirty minutes, I was about fifty feet from my office's entrance.  I hadn't made a lot of progress.  I thought about turning back, but it was wall-to-wall traffic in that direction, too.  I finally made it through one intersection.  After about thirty more minutes, I had made a little more progress and made it to another intersection.

 

I was going in the opposite direction of most other people, so I was actually moving.  I felt horrible for the other people, but I kept driving.  My vehicle is all-wheel-drive and sits a little higher since it's an SUV.  It handled the snow and ice much better than a lot of the vehicles on the road.  I didn't slide and I never lost traction.

 

After two hours, I made it to the Kroger near our house.  Justin and I don't cook frequently, so we didn't have a lot of food and I knew we would be stuck at home for a few days.  I grabbed some food and headed home.  I felt very lucky and blessed since a lot of people had to spend the night in their vehicles or in a home with strangers.

 

I kept waiting for Justin to get home.  He finally called me and said he didn't think he would be able to make it driving.  The roads were too full with stranded vehicles.  His car wasn't having any trouble, but there were vehicles stuck in intersections and they weren't moving anytime soon.  He parked his car in a parking lot off Piedmont Road and called me to tell me where he was.  I suggested he walk to the nearby MARTA station.  The trains were still running and I felt confident I could pick him up from the station near our house.

 

He called me when he made it to the station and I headed to get him.  The roads were still pretty full, but not nearly as bad as when I was driving home from work.  Justin started walking home when he made it to the MARTA station near our house.  I found him jogging down the side of the road, so I retrieved him and headed home.

 

I don't think I've ever been so happy to be at home with my husband.  I was hearing horror stories about people stranded, so the fact that we were both home, safe, was a win.

 

The next day, our front yard was pretty much a winter wonderland.

 

 

We worked from home for the next two days.  We headed out to get Justin's car on day three.  The roads were pretty much clear by then, so we had no trouble getting to his car and getting home.

 

I went into the office on the fourth day.  I couldn't take being cooped up at home any longer!  Justin prefers to work from home, so he worked from home that fourth day, too.

 

By the weekend, most snow and ice were melted and we were back to our typical winter weather.

 

Prior to January 2014, the last time this happened in Atlanta was January 2011.  Clearly, this doesn't happen a lot in the South!

 

It happened AGAIN two weeks later.



Justin Gets LASIK

Justin and I have discussed LASIK surgery previously, but left the discussion as, "It's something we're interested in, but just aren't ready, yet."  A few weeks ago, Justin mentioned he was very interested in pursuing it.

As always, Justin did his research.  He narrowed the list of possible doctors.  He then researched the equipment.  He wanted the latest and greatest, but also wanted a top notch doctor.  He settled on Dr. Ashraf at Atlanta Vision Institute.  Dr. Ashraf has two offices in the Atlanta area - one in Johns Creek and one in Dunwoody.  As much as Justin does not like going outside of Atlanta, he chose to go to the office in Johns Creek because the equipment was newer.

Justin scheduled the consultation appointment for last week.  Dr. Ashraf evaluated him and determined he was a good candidate for the surgery.  Justin asked about scheduling the procedure and they said he needed to begin antibiotic eye drops a week before the procedure, so the next week would be the soonest he could return.

He did a little more research and then called to schedule the appointment for today.  We both took off work for the day and headed to Johns Creek for his noon appointment.

We got checked in and visited with the assistant who told Justin what to expect and what to do after the procedure.  She asked us to head to the waiting room for a few minutes until they called Justin back.  We waited about five minutes and then they called Justin.

Before they called him, Justin showed me the area where they would do the procedure.

This machine is the one that cuts the flap.  The patient lies on the bed/table and the table is moved under the machine.  The doctor does something and the laser quickly cuts the cornea so the doctor can perform the actual LASIK procedure inside.  The flap creation takes a few seconds per eye.

The second machine is the one that actually corrects the patient's vision.  After the flap is created, the team slides the table over to the second machine.  The doctor moves the flap so he/she can access the inside of the eye.  This part of the procedure takes only a few seconds per eye.

Once they called Justin back, I panicked a little.  I was nervous before, but once I knew the procedure was imminent, I got a little more panicked.  Justin was anxious, which is understandable.  They gave him a Valium once he got back there, which helped.  I wish they had given me one, too!

While I was waiting for them to begin Justin's procedure, I watched the surgery of the patient ahead of him.  It was pretty interesting.  I was surprised how quick the procedure was.

Because I could watch the procedure, I knew when they began on Justin.

Once they got him in the room, they got him comfortable on the table and began prepping him.  The prep part took a minute or so.

They began making the flaps.  This took just a few seconds per eye, but it did take a few additional seconds so they could make the first flap and then reposition him to make the one on the other eye.

Once he made the flaps, they moved him over to the other machine and got to work.

The doctor gently flipped the flap and positioned Justin under the laser.  I could hear the laser pulses outside the room, so I knew when they were doing the actual correction.  I could also see everything on a big monitor in the room.

Once they finished the first eye, they quickly repositioned him, moved the flap, and corrected the second eye.  This part took about thirty seconds per eye.  The actual correction took only a few seconds per eye.

Once they finished with the laser part, the doctor returned the flaps to their original positions and used a squeegee thing to make sure they were in the correct position.  Once he did this, the doctor and his staff got Justin to sit up and walk to the exam room.  At this point, the doctor came out and spoke with me.  He said Justin did very well.  He said I could join him in the exam room, so I headed in that direction.

The doctor did a quick exam and pulled up some letters that Justin could easily read.

Once the doctor finished the exam, he said we could head home as soon as we were ready.  Justin and I sat in the room for a couple of minutes.  Justin's dad spoke with him during this time.  Everyone was concerned, so I texted updates and photos during the procedure and afterward.

I need to be honest.  I was probably more nervous than Justin.  I don't handle medical things very well, so I didn't expect to get through this without an "episode."  This time, it was quick and happened after the doctor released him.  I started sweating and had to sit with my head down for a minute or two.

We headed home and Justin went straight to bed.  The Valium really knocked him out.  He slept for a couple of hours and then awoke to put in the eye drops.  He drank some ginger ale and went back to sleep for a while.

He has to wear protective eyewear when he sleeps and when he showers for the next few weeks.  Attractive, no?

His vision is slowly getting better.  He can see better than previously without glasses, but everything is still a little hazy.  This should continue getting better overnight.  Justin has to return to the doctor's office tomorrow for a check.  The doctor told him he could drive himself.

He's still tired and his eyes are very dry right now, which is expected.  He will have to continue using the prescribed eye drops and also keep his eyes moist.  Hopefully the dryness will get better quickly.

I'm so proud of Justin.  I know he was anxious, but he came through it like a champ!  I'm interested now, but still just don't know if I'll be able to make it through.  Dr. Ashraf said I probably wouldn't go through with it since I watched Justin's, but it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

I have some videos, but need some help from Justin to rotate them.  Once he's able to help me do that, I'll post them.