As the lake effect snow machine roars into action again this winter, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of Facilities Services responsible for keeping the campus roads and sidewalks relatively snow-free every day. Sure, driving around a truck with a plow on it all day is probably every little boy's dream and it is every college male's dream to drive one of those cool tractors with a whirling brush on it and nail every pedestrian with a spray of snow (which the people at Landscape Services somehow avoid to do — I haven't seen any real snowmen this year). However, I am sure that this job becomes monotonous at 4 a.m. going back and forth down all the quads. Plus, the janitors already have enough work to do cleaning buildings without being responsible for clearing the entrances to their buildings from snow falling at the rate six inches an hour, as well. So, on behalf of all the students who haven't fallen down because of slippery sidewalks — and even the ones that have fallen (but only once or twice), thanks for all your hard work. I hope you get paid overtime!

Snow removal has always been sort of an obsession for me. The pinnacle of my snow clearing experiences occurred in 1996 when a Blizzard dumped over 20 inches of snow on the Washington, D.C. area and school was cancelled for a week. Shoveling became a full-time job as I tried to clear a path so my two younger sisters would not disappear forever into the snow. And then I, along with the whole neighborhood who had been snowed in for days, gathered around the court several days later as a front loader came to remove the massive amount of snow. What could be cooler than a large yellow construction vehicle moving snow in front of your house? I mean, come on.

So, I'll have to admit that while shoveling isn't a favorite chore of most people, I have been very tempted to pick up a shovel and go to town on a sidewalk here on campus. I only got this chance once, freshman year, as I helped to shovel out a friend's car after the infamous blizzard cancelled finals. Underclassmen should ask a junior or senior for details of this whale of storm — or for a real story, ask Professor Emil Hofman about the snow in the '70s that cancelled classes and sent students with sleds walking to town in search of beer. And you thought the crowd at Main Circle greeting the national championship womens basketball team was big!

So, as much as everyone complains about the snow here, I guess a snow removal addict like me picked the right school to go to. And if a snow plow goes missing one night, maybe I'll be the lucky one behind the wheel!

• Thanks, snow removers