8:00 and still at home

Another dump of snow and I can't drive to work. I was semi-optimistic that it would be fine on the roads since it's still fairly mild BUT with the fear that I would crash half way down the mountain. Ever since that accident back when Little Car was still a baby I have intense fear of icy slopes, particularly the one I drive down every day. However, today was my 3rd Year Anniversary as a Premier employee, and therefore a non-retail worker - yay!, so the 4 of us that were hired at the same time were going to go out to a new restaurant in the area for pasta. So, I got bundled up and trudged through the snow and started the process of clearing it off my car. A couple of people drove by, tires spinning a bit, but they were driving so even though it looked terribly icy I thought Little Car can do it too. Be positive! So 10 minutes later I put Little Car in drive and spun it's tires, slowly inching forward. But, then I started swerving a bit and got stuck. So, I went backwards and then put it in drive again, only to get stuck again. I took my foot off the gas & noticed I was going backwards - and just in case it's not clear, this was NOT deliberate, nor was I in reverse yet. This frightened me the most because if I can't make it up this little hill I may actually crash on the way down if I hit this kind of ice. After a few more futile attempts to get onto the other car's tracks I just backed up, on purpose, and parked Little Car. I called work & intend to try again in an hour or so. In theory, as the temperature rises it might get more melty & slushy so I could still make the pasta lunch. However, my tires really suck a$$ and I just don't have any confidence in them anymore. Despite my debt, I think I'm going to use my tax return money towards new tires. And if I can save up over the next 4 or 5 months I will also make the big leap & get winter tires. I've missed so much bloody work this winter being stuck at home & therefore used up alot of vacation days for no good reason that it's just prudent to invest in something that will prevent that from happening in the future. If I do pay the big bucks for winter tires and next winter is the mildest & sunniest winter ever here I will frickin' flip out, though.