Today I found out just how addicted I am to BOL. When the error messages popped up & I couldn't get on, I felt my blood run cold. BOL is the only compliance resource I have that's more current than 1987 (only half kidding!). Then to find out Andy Z was MIA (and maybe gone) was the final straw!

Start all the rumors you want about CIP, RESPA revisions, color-coded HMDA-LARs, etc., but make sure you verify your sources before you write off Andy Z!

Amen

Today another BOL addict had to admit to the addiction. The weather said that it was snowing in parts of Texas and my first thought was, "I wonder if Andy Z got snow today."

Yes, I am hopelessly hooked------but, at least I am in good company!

Snow in Texas??? I wonder what that would be like. I'm used to the snow. But I never get used to the sub-zero temps. -10 degrees this morning.

Maybe in Shirley's neck of the woods or further north, but not in Central Texas. But it is much colder than it was this morning.

I saw the forecast last night that said OK may be under 6" this morning and I wondered about all my "northern cousins".

I will tell you that I'll be building a fire tonight in my den. My PC with a hint of BOL, TechTV and some of Dan's eggnog with a hint of Jack (black label). Ummm. Does life get any better?

Yes, the NW part of OK was under a good 6 inches this morning. No school in almost the NW third of the state. Oh...to be a student again and get to stay home and snuggle by the fire or read a good book!

Say what you will about civil unrest, yuppies, dumb blonds, gangs, over priced housing, traffic, smog, and earthquakes. You just can't beat Southern California weather. 70+ and sunny.

In reply to:

---

Jack (black label).

---

I prefer the Crown, but each to his own. Enjoy!

Here in New Albany, IN we got six inches of snow last night. I was supposed to drive to Nashville, TN tomorrow afternoon but it looks as though that is going to be off.

Expecting 4 - 8 inches on Beautiful Cape Cod starting this afternoon and running into the late evening. Of course my meteorologist son (couldn't he have picked a profession that's easier to type?) is on the fence as to the rain/snow line. Murphy's law says I'll be on the snow side of the line!

Well, its 25 degrees and snowing like a bandit, 5" of snow on the ground (expecting 10") and everything is closed except my bank! However, no one in my department can even make it out of their driveways, so we are all taking the day off. Which brings me to the addicted part - I have the day off and here I am on BOL!!! Yup - I'm addicted!
Leslie

We get the cold, humidity, rain, ice....but rarely get snow. (usually wet snow that melts in less than an hour) I've only built one decent snowman in all the years I've lived in the south.

Your bank is closed? The only time in my 23 years of banking that I remember local banks being closed due to the weather was back in '94 or so. We got 17 inches of snow overnight. I worked in Louisville (across the river) and we were closed one day but had to report the next. It was a skeleton crew for several days.

I received a phone call as I was getting ready for work this morning from my sister in Maryland who was very excited about the beautiful and plentiful amounts of snow you are getting! The kids already had sleds in hand to play but noone in the neighborhoods were out yet... Noone to play with. I heard on the radio that you guys are to get several more inches today! Good luck! BOL from home!

I'm thinking that all the posters on this thread should develop/join a BOL Anonymous 12 Step Program, without delay.

We just opened anyway! It was earlier than '94, but we had 4WD and picked up my supervisor. Another lady's husband dropped her off and the 3 of us (out of 15) ran the branch until another lady got there around noon. We had 1 teller, 1 loan officer and me who had worked in new accounts and as loan assistant. I became main lobby teller and you name it. It actually was quite fun! Surprising how many customers we had!

That presumes that freeing oneself from the addiction is necessary and/or desirable. Speaking just for myself, that is not the case. I love my BOL-addiction!

We aren't getting the snow, because it is just TOO DARN COLD.... -10 yesterday -5 today.... This isn't supposed to happen for another month. This could be a long winter. I hope the people in the east are staying safe. I heard they are getting significant snowfall. We are used to snow here and in my town after 2 inches we had 162 accidents.

I prefer the heat, but I want a change of seasons. I won't see anything like John B does in Beautiful Cape Cod, and I don't want 10"+ like Steve White has/had for a week already, but I want some change.

As a kid I lived in Joppetown (sp?) Maryland. I remember snow drifts WAY over my head. I was shorter in the 2nd grade, but there was still a lot of snow. Sledding was fun.

We used to go outside and sled for hours at a time. Then when we would come in the house my parents had a fire in the fireplace and my mother would make hot chocolate for us. Wonderful memories!

At the small law firm (4 attorneys, 4 staff) I worked for out of college, the senior partner told us that we would be at work, rain, snow, sleet, etc.... If we could not get our cars out, he said to call him and he would come pick us up in his 4 wheel drive vehicle. Well, here in Texas, as Andy can attest, cold wet weather almost always comes with "black ice." It is there, you just can't see it--mainly on the overpasses. And we do not have trucks to salt the streets and overpasses.

Well suffice it to say, when there was a black ice warning, I poured another cup of coffee, read the newspaper, called the office to say I would try to get in later, watched videos (part of my plan always included a stop by the video store on the way home any time I heard it might ice that night). Funny, I never thought to take work home on those evenings--go figure.

But I absolutely never asked to be picked up. I don't care how many wheels and how many of them have drive shafts, ice is ice and wheels spin on them. And, although I am sure he was very capable of getting me to work--it was the other thousand idiots spinning around like whirlybirds that concerned me most.

My theory was I'd rather be unemployed than dead.

I'm with you there! Snow (at least a little bit) I can handle - but ice is just too much. Way out here in West Texas - we often get ice on the streets, then snow on top of the ice. Fun stuff!

Today, it's snowing one of those dry snows in Lubbock. It just swirls around in the wind like dust. So dry you can 'sweep it up and burn it' as my dad always says!

When I tell a Northerner that I don't drive on ice, they often tell me that I just don't know how. What they don't know is that I learned to drive in the north during some of the worst winters they have ever had. I almost never encountered ice--snow packed road, yes, but ice, no. What they also are not considering is watching Texans drive on rain, much less ice, is harrowing. I am not so concerned about my driving as I am the other crazies. That said, I still don't care if you have a 4 wheel drive, 8 wheel drive, or 16 wheel drive car--driving it safely on a freeway that is solid ice is just not possible.

Its funny to here all the talk of snow! We have had some snow up here in good old Milwaukee, WI...but it hasn't been anything like we used to get when I was a kid! I used to remember digging holes through the snow and making igloos! Plus it was always so WHITE! I did live out "in the sticks", but I swear there is not as much snow these days for the kids here in the city and it is ususally not white!

I'm with you Z. I had one accident when I was told by my bank that I would drive to the Austin airport. It was closed before I got there and I had to drive back. Yep. Went over a hill and instead of going straight I slid left with the incline and hit a car stranded on the side. Minor damage. But my employer had no sympathy.

I can work from home as easy as I can here. On those days, I can actually do more and with peace of mind.

And Autumn, I think we may have gone sledding together in different states. Hot chocolate, warm soup, fires. Those bring warm memories of good times.