Holy mother of god, it's supposed to snow tomorrow. Remember yesterday, when it was 70 degrees and we were all walking around without a care in the world? Well, kiss those days goodbye (until Friday), because it's supposed to snow up to two inches in some places — and it's supposed to get really, really cold.
In case you've forgotten what to do in the face of such epic natural disaster, CultureMap offers these survival tips:
Cancel all of your plans
If you have meetings on the books, cancel them. Meeting your co-workers for happy hour? You're certainly not now. If you live in Houston and there's the potential for snow (or let's be honest, when there's a potential for rain), all plans are automatically canceled. Crank up the heat and put on your best pair of nonbinding pants, because you're not going anywhere.
Head to the supermarket
Canceling plans is the best. As the comedian John Mulaney says, "In terms of instant relief, canceling plans is like heroin." But now that you're not doing anything, you're going to have to spend your night in. First, you will need provisions — things like milk, bread … actually, never mind.
Pull into the supermarket parking lot, think about going in, decide not to, pull out and drive to the liquor store
You can always order a pizza. Just because you're not driving doesn't mean the delivery guy from Star Pizza can't get on the road. Plus, when it's this cold and you have no plans, it's best to warm up with nature's fireplace: bourbon. Since you will most likely be holed up for 20, possibly 30, hours, plan accordingly.
Fire up the Netflix
Now that you have provisions, it's time to get to the evening's most important activity: deciding what you're going to watch on Netflix. If you're not sure, read through the queue of artsy foreign films and social documentaries you added weeks ago. Unfortunately, no one ever seems to actually be in the mood to watch any of these selections. Decide on the episode of Law & Order: SVU with John Stamos. Halfway through, realize you've seen this one before and you're pretty sure Stamos did it, but you'll be damned if you can remember the plot twist. Dick Wolf does it again.
Flip through Instagram
Scroll through your feed and envy your friends living in Los Angeles, with their light jackets and carefree attitudes. Make sure not to "heart" their photos out of spite. (They won't know, but you will.) You were like them once, enjoying balmy 70-degree January days and laughing at your friends on the East Coast, all of whom were buried under snow earlier this week.
Decide to take advantage of this day in and get a little reading done
One of the best — and worst — things about Houston is that there is always something to do. Factor in a full-time job, family, some semblance of a social life, and by the time you crawl into bed, you're usually too tired to make it past the first chapter of The Goldfinch. Now that you have a whole evening free due to the possible snow dusting outside, it's time to power through those back issues of The New Yorker. Give it up when you see that the next episode of Law & Order: SVU has Fred Savage.
Suddenly realize why this snow day is so great
The best part of this freezing, sleeting, snowing, windy weather? It will be 70 degrees again on Friday.
Up to two inches of snow is expected to fall in Houston on Tuesday.
