It’s snowing here in Ottawa, and snowing hard, and I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe, my 7 AM flight to DC isn’t gonna happen. Fingers crossed. But, hey, if my flight gets cancelled, that just means more donuts for me.
Despite it snowing, and snowing hard, the streets are plowed—hell, the sidewalks are plowed. (They plow ’em with cute lil’ miniplows that would make Megan squeal with delight.) School here is cancelled, and some buses aren’t running, but life seems to be coursing through the city. There are tons of people out walking, cafes are full, bars are full, and my event here tonight is still on. It looks like maybe a foot or snow has fallen so far and it’s -9° C, however cold that is, and yet I was able to walk 1.3 km, however far that is, from the CBC back to my hotel wearing mesh-topped tennis shoes without getting my feet totally soaked, all thanks to those darling lil’ miniplows.
Fascinating, I realize!
I”m from Ottawa!!! And its not that cold for this time of year!! Seattle weather is robbing me of my Canadian heritage and the ability to endure frost bite weather.
I’m from Vancouver. We don’t get snow here, so when I get all of the typical remarks about Canada from non-Canadians, I get a little confused.
Still, I’d have liked some non-slushy snow this winter. 🙁
@51 we thaw out and thin the blood of any snow expats within a year!
Forget Tim’s… Go downtown and rent some skates at the canal locks, go for a skate while eating a warm beaver tail (Megan squeals again), then warm up with a Guiness at the Elephant & Castle.
“Mesh-topped tennis shoes…”
At what point are you going to wear shoes made for adults?
We’ve got our own personal mini-plows for the larger driveways. Snow don’t phase us!
@Canuck, you live in AB?? Me too! Calgary or Edmonton?
@45 There was too much snow to go skating, I was going to attempt it since I had a few hours between work at Dan Savage at Carleton, but decided sitting in Chapters was the better option.
I was supposed to see you at Carleton too, but my buses were cancelled. SO CLOSE! Come to the market tomorrow morning and I’ll buy you a Cora’s breakfast!
You were here not only in my town but at the Timmy’s around the corner from my boyfriend’s place, on date night, and I didn’t get to run into you? The universal alignment mechanism is just a little bit off.
The snow here today is really beautiful and sparkly. I hope I’ll have time tomorrow to take a camera down to the park and shoot some pictures.
Do they make All Dressed Donuts?
@41 lol
@48: Good question. I’ll grant you that chip wagons in this town are usually a hit-or-miss proposition. The canal booths are always good, though. They have to be to charge the prices that they do.
@WFM, that Elephant & Castle is long gone, replaced by The Exchange 🙂
Thanks for coming, Dan. I never thought I would actually get to meet you, and for some reason I got inexplicably nervous (I was the big guy in the yellow t-shirt) but it meant a lot to me.
@56 Canadian eh?
I’m about 30 min west of Calgary, in the booming metropolis of Bragg Creek…where are you?
@63, oh well. I graduated from Carleton in ’94 so my memories of Ottawa are increasingly ancient. But very fond. Wonderful town.
@64: Don’t feel bad, Dan has that effect on people. When he and Ira Glass did a DJ gig together last summer here in Seattle I got to meet him. My date gave him a graceful compliment. I, on the other hand, burbled out “I LUV U!!!” and promptly fell off the stage. Sadly I cannot use alcohol as an excuse.
#42 – program is the extent of changes to your spelling? What about the Labor (sic) Party?
All this Canada talk is making me homesick, I’d punch a nun for some Elgin Street Pountin right about now.
Why can’t we have miniplows for sidewalks here? I live in Boston, and we’ve had 5′ 10″ of snow in the past two months, with not enough melting in between. We have snow fatigue like you wouldn’t believe.
I thought Canadians still lived in igloos.
Hey, hey, get outa my way,
just got back from the USA.
Who’s Megan?
@Canuck, Calgary. On the far west end, near Springbank.
SEE DAN? THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD COME TO CALGARY!
@74 Holy crap, we are practically neighbours!! Yes, Dan, come to Calgary, and Canadian eh? and I will pick you up at the airport, take you for Timbits, and stand you a few pints of Guinness at the James Joyce…free sex advice optional…
All this Canada talk is making me homesick too. I’m from Vancouver (went to university in Toronto) but live in Seattle now. Seattle’s great, but I’d love to live in Vancouver again at some point.
“Chip wagon” – that made me laugh. My bro lives in Nova Scotia and says that.
@70- Because in America we don’t let the government interfere with our personal choice to shovel or a not shovel a sidewalk!
I used to live in Boston and they used to use Bobcats to plow some sidewalks, but not in residential areas or in front of most businesses. They used them on the Charles River Bikepath too.