I thought winter was bad last year? It's going to be WORSE this year.

Winter is on the way in Chicago, and it's expected to be as bad as -- if not worse -- than last year.

The Midwest and Great Lakes region will "hands down" be hit with the nation's worst winter, according to AccuWeather.com's long-range report. Chicago, in particular, is expected to get the most snow and cold.

"People in Chicago are going to want to move after this winter," said long-range meteorologist Josh Nagelberg.

The weather service predicts 50 to 58 inches of snow in Chicago, (FUCK, THAT'S A FEW INCHES SHORTER THAN I AM!) not far off from the 57.9 total we saw during the third largest blizzard on record.

"Bitterly cold blasts of arctic air" are expected to send temperatures plunging 2 to 3 degrees below normal in December and January, though AccuWeather says Minneapolis will get the most frigid air.

Last year, the Blizzard of 2011 paralyzed Chicago and snowed in hundreds of cars on Lake Shore Drive.

The record snowfall cost the city and sister agencies $37.3 million, according to estimates released in March. Gov. Pat Quinn requested federal assistance for the cleanup.

Last month, the Farmer’s Almanac predicted “clime and punishment” for many parts of the country, including lots of rain and snow in the Midwest.

Temperatures should feel close to the average this winter for the Chicago area, the Almanac predicted. That means a perfect environment for heavier-than-normal precipitation.

You bet I'll be moving after this winter. By next winter, I hope to be moved out to Southern California. :D

*sort-of-related tangent* I finally sat down with Mom to have THAT talk today. The topic of conversation came up when we were discussing how much longer my brother's GF would be living with us. Mom doesn't think it's going to work out with her and Hunter, to be honest, and I don't blame her. ( She likes to spend spend spend her money, and she just got a speeding ticket, and we can totally see her and Hunter having arguments over money.) Then Mom said she doesn't expect Hunter to move out anytime soon; this is his home, and he is welcome to live here as long as he needs. Same applies to me. Then she kind of laughed and said something about how I'll never want to leave now, but I laid it down and told her if things work out and I get accepted to the art school I'm working hard on getting into, I'll be moving out in about a year.

Now Mom knows I've been looking into art school for animation, and she already knows I've looked into a few already. The Illinois Institute of Art is pushing for me to enroll in classes that start either this week or next week, even though I've told them I don't want to rush into a decision that quickly because I AM looking at a couple of other schools. (Plus, the other schools I'm interested in want a portfolio submission and Illinois Institute of Art has not requested one. I think that speaks volumes right there. And I STILL have my heart set on CalArts, even if I have to relocate all the way across the country.) So Mom wanted to know which one would require me to move and where to. So I had to tell her, "California."

She wasn't pissed off or anything. It was kind of hard to tell her reaction, actually. All she said was, "....That's very far away," and pointed out the only family we have close to California are my cousin Robin in Oregon, and Dad's cousin Donna in Colorado. And that I wouldn't be able to just come home whenever. I told her I've taken all of that into consideration, because it's not like I'm rushing into this without thinking about that kind of stuff. The only time I'll probably get to see my parents or Hunter or Bo (Oh GOD, I don't know how I could handle leaving my poor dog!) or Gramma Julie or Kevin (and I don't even know if I can handle a long-distance relationship) again would be Christmas and possibly the summer. So yeah. Sacrifices will have to be made.

Like I said, this isn't a decision I'm making lightly. Mom seemed to take it okay. But I think she might be scared that I will get accepted and will be leaving her.

*sort-of-related tangent* Today we set off some bug bombs in the house, so we had to evacuate for two hours. Hunter went to work. Mom and Gramma went to do some shopping (it's good therapy for Mom to get moving around). I put Bo outside with some kibble and fresh cool water, and I intended to go to the park in town to work on my sketchbook. But no. I retracted my car's sunroof (it was GORGEOUS outside) and just cruised around Lowell, Cedar Lake and Crown Point listening to 97.9 FM and 103.9 FM (the local classic rock stations) for two hours. It was a good way to unwind after the couple of weeks I've had, with painting and work.

But by the time I got home, OH GOD, Bo acted like he hadn't seen me in ages and was all, "How DARE you leave me outside like that for two hours?! I missed you! LOVE ME!!!!!" Bless his doggie heart.

I just called off of work. We're supposed to get up to a foot's worth of snow today. Z107 FM is reporting lots of spinoffs and accidents on the road. The snow's really supposed to come down later this afternoon, and this evening it's going to be blowing and drifting. Plus, I calculated that what it would cost for a tow truck would be more than what I would've been paid to work a full eight hours today.

And I worry about Kevin on the road because he takes US 30 to get to and from work. But since he moved out near the stateline, the drive to the Schererville Wal-Mart isn't as far as it was before when he lived in Merrillville. So I played the role of concerned-and-worried GF and called him, telling him to be careful on the way home and that I love him...because I do, of course.

But at least I talked to Don about calling off and he wasn't a jerk about it. If you have to talk to Randy, he's kind of a jerk and makes you feel bad about calling off. I just told Don my car wouldn't start. Yeah, that's a fib because I haven't even tried to start my car this morning (although I should go start it up and let it run about five minutes or so, so I don't have problems later on), but I have at least shoveled out the sidewalk and porch. (And I'll have to keep doing it during the day, so it doesn't build up and become a bigger hassle to take care of tomorrow when this all ends.) But considering how I went off the road a few weeks ago on the way to work...yeah, I don't want that to happen again. I was lucky Troy was home to help me get out.


(And my "currently listening" music? I'm listening to the local radio station. So sue me.)

We got a snow/ice storm a few days ago, and it was very difficult getting home from work at ten in the evening. But because the roads were extremely slick and hard to navigate, my car ended up swerving on US 41 and doing a 180 into the other side of the road. Luckily, I didn't go into the ditch. The worst part is that right behind me, another car started swerving and fishtailing and I came thisclose to being involved in a head-on collision. The other car managed to get control of itself soon enough to avoid hitting me.

I swear to God, I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate living in Indiana this time of year.

*tangent* A family friend of ours died the other day. He was admitted to the hospital with the flu, and a bunch of flu-related complications did him in. Mom's in shock. Kenny was one of Dad's childhood friends. I grew up with his daughter. It's just....man.

It's super FUCKING cold.

I might just go home early. Kilibarda made today's lecture optional; everyone who wanted to leave after the in-class exercise (which was a breeze) could. I stayed for the lecture.

In the meantime, I do have posts at Starbright Cont. that need to be caught up on.

Haven't been able to be online at ALL this week. Whenever I get home, my brother's monopolizing the damn computer and causing mischief online that's probably going to boomerang back his way and cause some major trouble.

Classes aren't all that bad...just a lot of work. And it really doesn't help that we have absolutely NO word regarding Sheri at work. I had a little free time this Monday; one of my classes let out a little early, so I went to blow some time at the mall before I went home. I ran into Tiffany in the food court--she's working at Panda Express now (it's been about a year since she left Blockbuster). SHE knew about Sheri's husband. "How'd you find out?" I asked. Apparently, Sheri and her little girl have been doing some mall shopping during her time off. Oh yeah, I know when my mom was in the hospital after her last few attacks last year, I wasn't at the mall blowing time off.

That's not the end of it. Yesterday was wonderful senior citizen day, and I had some customer start bitching at me that "When the fat girl with the long hair was still here during the day, there'd be the movies we'd want back here, and now they never ARE." Yeah! Now customers are pretty much blaming ME for the hot new releases never being in. I'm getting sick of it. I keep telling myself that it'll all be worth it when I'm done with school and I can quit and never have to work a crappy retail job again. But that was pretty much it with me. I came home last night, and just started writing about these crappy experiences, and hopefully I can turn all of these shitty retail experiences into a movie. NO, not a new version of Clerks, I mean a movie where the employees seek their revenge.

Mom's being an even bigger pain in the ass than she normally is, pissing me and Hunter off even more than we normally are. Maybe she just WANTS us to put her in a insitution or something. I don't know.

I talked to Scott yesterday. He was asking about Sheri and asked how I was holding up, and I just told him I had no clue what was going on, and I was getting tired of being skirted under 40 hours a week with no benefits. (Scott used to manage the store in Merrillville, the one I was subbing at last year.) He actually told me I'm in the best position I'm in now as an assistant manager, because if I were management, I'd be paying out the ass for benefits and I don't have all of the responsibilities the regular store manager would and I don't have to go to the "stupid district meetings every week."

My paycheck should be quite large this week, though. Time to go get some new shoes and maybe go get something done with my hair. The layers are growing out and it looks weird.

We're allegedly getting a shitload of snow tonight. I HATE SNOW, I HATE SNOW, I HATE SNOW.

The weather is just going to get worse. All Mom can do is worry about Dad on the road. (He's on his usual route to Canada and back.) I'm worried about him, too.

Regarding my car insurance situation...I'm going to take out what I am sure I owe on it and have my mom hold that for me as collateral. The bill didn't come again. I'm starting to get VERY angry with State Farm about this. We should have just switched providers instead of renegotiating.

Work was very slow today. But yeah, no one's going to want to go to the mall in weather like this.

I swear, people make the biggest deal over just a little snow, even if it's just falling down. It was a wet snow last night, easy to deal with, practically melting as it hit the ground. We got like an inch last night, and some more is coming down, but it's nothing we can't handle. But I was going to work last night up the nine-mile, and the snow was--like I said--melting as soon as it hit the ground, and fuckin' SNOW PLOWS were coming down nine-mile. They really weren't needed. But no snow plows will come down Austin Avenue when we NEED it.

Out of whimsy (and curiosity), I decided to check my horoscope on Yahoo Astrology:
Sagittarius Horoscope: You should find yourself in a fairly good mood, Holly, although you might have a hard time fully expressing yourself completely. Perhaps you feel as if there is someone looming over your shoulder and keeping an eye on your every move. You may feel like a kid in a classroom being watched by the teacher who is acting more like a hungry hawk than a learning facilitator. Don't be intimidated by those who put on a self-righteous air. You have just as much right to speak your mind as anyone.

And now a rant! Yeah, mandatory rehearsals tonight. And as usual, Mom has a bug up her ass about it. Okay, it's not enough that I'm working two jobs just to scrape up SOME sort of income AND going to school at the same time, which pretty much robs me of any sort of social life. (Thank God for the end of the semester.) What the hell?! I'm going to be 23in a couple of days but she still wants to treat me like I'm a kid. I pay for my own gas, I have my car insurance paid, and she has a cow whenever I want to go out and enjoy myself. Sometimes I think she gets jealous because she can't get around that easily and really has no place to go to enjoy herself. All Mom does is sit around and watch daytime TV (soap operas and court television). I'm a busy girl, I WORK, I study, I travel. I need to find my own place to live...preferably by June. (Yes, I'm giving myself a deadline here.)


**fin**