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!
Sounds like you’re actually in Lawrence, KS at this very moment. Seriously.
It’s 15.9 degrees Fahrenheit.
They’d be so fucked if a hurricane blew through.
What were you doing here? Something we can watch out for?
And what the fuck are you doing at Tim Horton’s? weren’t they hosting what amounted to free donuts and anti-marriage equality rallies at one point? jesus, Dan. your liberal agenda is SLIPPIN’.
Sorry, the only words going through my head right now are “something getting plowed that makes Megan squeal with delight.”
Aw, you’re at Timmies! Have a honey cruller and a double double. CBC? Fine, be coy, I’ll figure out when you’re on tonight.
(-9c is a heat wave, and 1.3km is about 11 blocks.)
…and why am I not surprised you’re all about the plowing?
@5, he’s proving it’s really Canada -brilliant!
Easy way to flush out Canadians in the room: call it “Tom Hortons.”
If that doesn’t work, say “Nobody makes ’em like Tom.”
The snow storm is all about me.
If you were in Toronto you wouldn’t even have to brave the snow or cold at all to walk a kilometer or two.
I was so excited to see you talk about the It Gets Better project tonight, but that stupid snowstorm makes it too difficult to get to Carleton 🙁 I hope all goes well in Ottawa, Dan!
pictures of the cute lil’ miniplows!
From his facebook page:
# It Gets Better Lecture Series
Carleton University, Ottawa, CA
Today, February 2 at 7:00pm
But I dunno what’s in DC, nothing on FB for that…
Just remember, Tim Horton’s is religion in Canada.
You can make fun of snow, you can make fun of polar bears, but don’t mess with the donuts.
Or you’ll suddenly find your oil supply endangered …
@10 Actually, it’s all about how things don’t completely shut down in the winter here, which is a good thing, considering how long the winters are.
@13 “But I dunno what’s in DC, nothing on FB for that… “
Audience with the president? Putting the finishing touches on the Gay Agenda before it’s signed into law?
Well, Seattle is gorgeous today.
See now I feel bad for complaining about the 35 degree morning here in vegas
@15, probably going back to U of Maryland for the event that was cancelled last week.
@15 that’s the RADICAL HOMOSEXUAL GAY AGENDA! with MANDATORY HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE!1!!
Well, you know. 🙂
It’s cold here, but by that I mean cold for here. I don’t think we got above 60F. (OTOH, strictly speaking, neither did Ottawa 😀 )
Tim Hortons’ donuts are wooden imitations of Dunkin Donuts’ donuts.
I want a donut.
If you get stuck in Ottawa…. come to Toronto!!! We’d love to have you and the snow just brushed us. C’mon, you know you want to!!
Who the hell wears mesh-topped tennis shoes to walk around Ottawa, in February, in a snowstorm? Couldn’t fit proper footwear in the carry-on?
PS. @12 Best. Profile. Pic. Ever.
Fezzgig rocks!
Hey BEG, guess what? Our Premier just resigned, which means the party has to pick a new leader, and the most likely choice is a guy who said the province was being controlled by the “radical lesbian agenda,” cool, huh? I wonder how the radical lesbian agenda differs from the radical gay agenda? I’ll be sure to ask him at the next candidates forum.
And BEG, 60F is what we refer to as “July” here.
@18, that explains it – the rescheduled MTV pilot taping! Thank you.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/dan-savage…
As a Brit-NZ-Australian, I’m confused with the spelling in this post. Is Dan writing in Canadian? Don’t U.S. Americans write “canceled”? Do Canadians write ‘plow’ or ‘plough’? I need to know, Canuck and other Canadians reading this!
Oh, don’t eat Tim’s doughnuts – they’re frozen! I guarantee that if you look just a wee bit harder, you’ll find a non-chain doughnut shop, or a grocery store with an in-store bakery, where you can get good doughnuts – it’s Canada, and you’re never far from a doughnut in Canada.
Yeah. We plow the roads and sidewalks, because if we didn’t, Canada would be shut down for about 5 months out of the year. We don’t take days off for snow.
@3: Ottawa doesn’t get hurricanes. At worst, they get vague remains of hurricanes. Because hurricanes aren’t hurricanes anymore once they make landfall. And Ottawa is about 1000 miles in any direction from any ocean.
Nova Scotia is another matter altogether though.
@24 ooh, radical lesbian agenda… must learn more.
And yes, i know i get *no* sympathy at all from 95% of those north of me on this continent. But it IS cold for here 🙂
FeralTurnip, good question! I love all of the differences found in US/Canadian/UK spellings and terms…I have noticed that Canada has started using a lot more US spellings for things, my guess would be the omnipresence of “spellcheck” that is always set to the annoying “US English,” no matter how many times you change it.
As far as plowing/ploughing goes, I would say it’s more common to see “plow” the streets, yet I think for farming, they still call it a “plough,” and you would “plough” a field. I would write cancelled, colour, neighbour, drive a car around a roundabout, and park on Centre Street. Our neighbourhoods have Crescents, not Circles, and despite what Dwight says, our donuts/doughnuts feckin’ rock.
That said, here’s this from a recent diatribe by a city Councilman: “At the same time, Council tells us they want a walkable city but won’t plough the streets when it snows.”
@ 24, LOL Canuck, stop scaring the non-Canucks. You and I both know the only time it’s 60 F in July in your province is when you are up at Mountain’s top 😀 You South of 60’ers are such babies about the weather! 😉
The best donuts are those powdered white ones, but I think they’re from New York …
@28 well, usually. If we get 1 meter or more of snow in a single day, it’s usually a snow day.
Well, if you want to be *technical* about it, fancy’s pants…I suppose I may have exaggerated just a titch…(but it has snowed in July and August at least twice in the last 10 years, and that is completely true!)
@31 it’s like 54-40 said.
No consistency. It should be plow the snow or plough the snough. And I have yet to see a satisfying etymology for “gitch”. As in, “sorry, I had to adjust my gitch a titch.”
@34: You misspelled The Northern Pikes.
I remember the Ottawa sidewalk plows. And getting stuck behind three dumptrucks and a snowblower as they cleared the snowbanks. Don’t miss it a bit.
@ 34, LOL, the Canadian band, or the Mr. James ‘Manifest Destiny’ Polk variety?
I was raised North of 60 (Sometimes far North of 60), and I always remind Southerners that they shouldn’t complain about cold in front of me 🙂 True, in Canuck’s corner, 60 F isn’t the norm in July, but where I was…well, far more likely to happen far more often!
@36 — I missed the snowbank clearing snowblowers, they were kind of awesome to watch as a kid.
Living in TO I miss the sidewalk plows — here everyone has to clear the walk in front of their house/business or get fined, results it really uneven level of effort and when it will get done.
I remember when we had only two territories, not three …
And we LIKED it!
Snowplows were great for building igloos with – a good 10 to 12 foot tall snowbank on the sides of a typical Canadian road and you’ve got half your work done for you.
@39, What’s the matter, you don’t want None Of It? 😉
My Northern Studies teacher used to say, “You know why we gave up so much land to Nunavut? Cause we don’t want None Of It!” Yeah, he was so cheesy.
Plough the snough? I’ve had enow already.
@30: Aw, thanks Canuck! Yep, Microsoft spellcheck imperialism is a common complaint Down Under too. We do mostly write ‘program’ now, but that’s about the extent of changes to our spelling. Never ‘plow’.
@35: Though a rough cough and hiccough did plough me through, I noticed the flaw (flaugh?) in your logic: snow and plough don’t rhyme…
And if anyone’s interested, it’s about 90F and humid as fuck where I am (Canberra-ish).
You definitely came on a good day Dan. I was out with the dog earlier and was surprised at how clear the side walks were! And try the coconut cream donut, it’s to die for!
That’s because in Canada we don’t give a fuck about the snow. It’s Canada for fuck sakes. Also, I just got back from Tim Hortons and the drip coffee is better than Starbucks. Ask for a box of TimBits. It’s not what you think.
I found out about the Carleton presentation at exactly 4:30 pm. Remaining tickets? ZERO. That’s just swell.
Dan: If you still have time, go down to the canal, rent a pair of skates and make like Sonja Henie on the world’s longest ice rink! Then hit the Winterlude booths for
1. a beaver tail (better than any donut),
2. a hot chocolate, and then
3. a poutine (mmmmm)
@45: Nooo! Haven’t you heard? Fatty fats make you a fattie-fatso! Then you can’t be thin-privileged and go on TV!
Here, read this:
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archive…
@45: Dan may like tail, but I don’t think beaver is his thing.
@45 Has Canada improved their poutine outside of Quebec?
#5, Tim’s wasn’t involved in anti-marriage stuff. A regional manager approved it – and head office put a stop to it and apologized. They don’t support any political causes.
They do, however, proudly decorate their store in Montreal’s gay village with the rainbow flag.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2294…
@31 I freely admit to being a baby about weather 🙂
@42 but your hot weather (it’s summer where you are) is perfectly valid!