Snoverwhelmed

Just as my classmates and I were getting acclimated to our new and busy schedules in Washington D.C. this semester, a series of unprecedented snowstorms has essentially paralyzed the city and sequestered us all here in Arlington. In total, nearly 56 inches of snow has fallen this winter, shattering the previous record that was set back in 1898. From the two most recent blizzards alone, Arlington has received nearly 30 inches of snow.

It almost goes without saying that the government has been crippled by this and was shut down four days last week (on a side note, shutting down the federal government for one day costs roughly $100 million in lost productivity – a major “ouch” for taxpayers). The flip side, of course, is that we’ve all been able to sleep in late, have epic snowball fights, watch old episodes of the West Wing – and bond throughout it all. It feels like an arctic rendition of spring break.

By now, though, we all are getting an itch to get back to our internships and classes. Severe cabin fever has spread like the plague as we all agonize over what to do with ourselves. It doesn’t help that we’ve been disconnected from the city for so long because of the metro, which closes above ground stations after 8 inches of snow have fallen on the tracks. Hopefully next week the snow will be cleared, the city will come back to life, and we’ll all be able to resume life as usual. I for one am ready for some warm, summer days.