Grace and Ben

I moved to Baltimore to get away from the snow and ice in Chicago. This winter, I’ve seen much more snow than Ben who is still living in Chicago. Tomorrow morning, we are expecting 1-3 inches and on Friday, Baltimore is supposed to get another 3-6 inches of accumulation. That doesn’t sound like much by Chicago standards, but in Baltimore, they don’t plow streets or shovel sidewalks. Instead, you just complain and wait for the snow to melt. This wouldn’t be a problem for me if I could walk or take public transportation everywhere I needed to go, but alas, Trader Joe’s is quite a hike (10 miles away) and getting to/from the airport is very very painful by Supershuttle, MARC train, light rail and every other means of transportation I’ve tried besides driving (parking costs $7/day plus tips for the shuttle driver) or taking a $50-60 taxi, each way. My volvo is great, except it needs rear brake lights, a side view mirror and a new windshield (and probably new tires, which are about 7 years old). I try not to take it into the repair shop until absolutely necessary because I’m sure they will find dozens of other things wrong with it. After all, it’s 18 years old! I don’t drive it at night because I think it’s safer to drive without brake lights during the day than at night. However, since I work about 11 hours a day (and the best time to work is on the weekends), my volvo doesn’t get too much use, which is fine with me. Well, that’s enough venting from me. I really should be grateful to have a nice apartment that is walking distance from my school. My heat is included in my rent and I’ve heard that heating a Baltimore apartment (with drafty windows and inefficient heaters) costs about $150 per month. This winter, which has been colder than normal, I have no heat bill and enjoy a toasty, comfortable apartment.

Yesterday, I stayed home from work because of a big snowstorm. To see some more photos of the aftermath, click here.