Screw you winter

Sorry for the lack of a post last night. I was just dead tired and had to make a decision between a) lying in bed and reading a book on pop culture or b) sitting at my desk and trying to think of things to write about pop culture. My bed was a lot more comfy last night so it won out. I also have just been absolutely spent these past few weeks. I come home from work exhausted yet I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in ages. I fall asleep easy but wake up four hours later and then am in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. I just want a good eight hours sleep. Not too much to ask.

Well, we are also in the middle of Snowmegeddon 4: The Final Reckoning here in Delaware. Or at least we are supposed to be as this storm has been rather bizarre. We had been forecasted all week to expect 6 – 12 inches of snow today and tomorrow. I woke up to snow falling but absolutely nothing has stuck. It has pretty much been snowing all day and it has all melted on contact. They are still forecasting actual snow to hit us overnight but I am at the “I’ll believe it when I see it” point.

What is more interesting is that a lot of schools closed today and they made their decision on Wednesday night. Given that we really didn’t have snow this just meant that a bunch of kids just had another day of class added to their summer for no apparent reason. What is even more interesting is that I can’t ever remember having school cancelled the night before because of a storm when I was a kid. It was always a case of waking up in the morning at the same time as always and checking the television and the radio to see if school was cancelled. Maybe they even broke out the old phone tree to inform everyone. It was certainly never announced well before the storm ever started.

In fact, the only time that I can recall having classes cancelled well ahead of time was when Chicago was forecast to be thirty degrees below zero before you even factored in the wind chill. It was pretty logical to cancel school that day given that it was basically announced that no one should venture outside due to the strong possibility of death. Now kids are given days off when it doesn’t even snow (or back in KC, because it snowed an inch.) I hate to say that we were made of hardier stuff back in my day but damnit, these kids are too soft nowadays.

Even worse is that because we have been dealing with serious blizzards this month I’d expect that kids are completely out of step with school at the moment. If I am still finding my groove at work due to time out of the office I can’t imagine what it is like for a nine year old. You really need to have a steady routine to learn and this winter has just been horrible for that. Given that I don’t have a great deal of faith in our school systems to begin with all of this snow certainly isn’t helping.

That is all for tonight. I plan on posting something a little more creative over the weekend to make up for the missed post. I think it is time to return to critical analysis of 80’s pop songs because hair metal should not be forgotten.

Have tauntaun will travel

Sometimes the core part of my nature gets the better of me. Such as when I am confronted with treacherous, snow covered roads. When most people would be glad to stay home from work and relax in their sweats and, uh, “telecommute” I basically go, “Where are my car keys?”

There are two reasons for this. One is just typical macho bullshit. Like most guys I have that part of me that has a constant need to prove just how tough I am. Since I am unable to prove it through things like athletic competitions or street fights I have to settle for more pedestrian pursuits like trivia contests and being able to drive in inclement weather. The other is that I am a guy from Chicago who has worked for utilities his entire life. As a result I feel that I can drive through anything short of the apocalypse and that my job is in jeopardy if I decide not to show up for work in the morning.

Yesterday the blizzard warning kept me home from work (though I still think I could have made it in.) Today I woke up, looked at the roads from my apartment windows and went, “I can drive through this.” So I did and made my way through what could only be called a bobsled run in order to make it to my office. Where I soon discovered that they had just sent out the official announcement that all nonessential employees should stay home for the day. Sigh. I might be an arrogant bastard but even I don’t consider myself to be essential.

I will say that Delaware did a good job on clearing the main roads. The side streets looked like hell but since I don’t really have to deal with them too much I was able to make it through. It is pretty remarkable to drive down the road with two to three feet of snow piled up on either side of you. The feeling of claustrophobia that strikes you is mind boggling. Even though your lane is the exact same size it always was it just feels so much narrower. For the record, Philadelphia has had more snow this year than Buffalo. Yes, the weather has been that nutty.

(And please, don’t give me this “Where is global warming now” crap just because it snowed. Winning a hand of poker does not make you the best poker player in the world. One piece of weather data does not invalidate years of data. Last decade was the warmest decade on record. The Northwest Passage became navigable for the first time in recorded history. Something is going on with the weather.)

Short post tonight but that is what happens when you spend a few days snowbound. The Olympics start tomorrow and that will give me plenty of topics to write about. Biathalon! Curling! Nordic Combined! These are a few of my favorite things…

It's like Hoth out there

Here is what is incredibly enjoyable about living in a high rise apartment with great windows. I am able to watch birds try to fly into a forty mile an hour headwind. I spent much of my afternoon doing this. These little birds would give it everything they had and would start to make progress before they were forced to give up and go in the other direction. I swore that I was going to see one try to go into the wind to just be flipped backwards. It was incredible and the few that made it through impressed the hell out of me.

Yes, I spent the day at home as Snowmegeddon kept me locked up in my apartment all day. I still worked mind you. Took a conference call, actually had the telecommuting options work, and took care of probably ninety five percent of the tasks that I needed to today. Through it all I got to watch a white out as it was just nasty out there. What was strange is that when I woke up this morning it really wasn’t that bad. The roads looked passable and it was more sleeting than anything. But man, when the storm started it was as bad as I have seen in a long time. I’m happy I was able to stay inside.

Well, Sunday is Valentine’s Day and…wait a minute. This Sunday? Quick, clear the roads. I have to get to the mall.

See, this is a wonderful example of just how much my life has changed. If you look at my blog posts for February from 2005 through 2008 you will see the exact same comments in February. I will discuss how horrible it is to be single on Valentine’s Day, how one cannot go to a bar or a restaurant on that night without wanting to wash their eyes out with bleach and how I will be engaging in my annual tradition of sitting in a darkened apartment while listening to Smiths CDs and slowly cursing humanity. One year I believe I auctioned myself off as a date for that night offering a) a free dinner at Outback Steakhouse (said free dinner not to exceed twenty five dollars) and b) a ticket to join me at the Air Supply concert that night. Surprisingly, I had no takers. Even last year I think I kept the cynical veneer up even though I knew that Kim and I were going to be in New Orleans that night so I really had no room to complain about anything in my life.

Now I even wonder how I had that view at all. I’m engaged to the woman of my dreams and I’m looking forward to the day. Sure, it is a Hallmark holiday and all and the fact that it can be turned into a huge production number bothers me but I just have to smile at just how well my life is going at the moment. I’ve spent years searching for what I have right now. Two years ago I was the quiet guy at the end of the bar trying to figure out where life would lead him. I’m still wondering where life will lead me but I now have a partner in the journey and that makes all the difference in the world.

End note and a sad one at that. I would like to note the passing of Captain Phil Harris. For those of you who watch Deadliest Catch you will know Captain Phil as the gruff leader of the Cornelia Marie who was somehow able to keep everything together from his boat to his crew to his family while crab fishing off of Alaska. He passed away this week from complications from a stroke that he suffered while unloading crab at the dock. It is very difficult to judge someone who you only know from a television show but Phil always seemed like a good guy. He looked after his sons and worked as hard as he possibly could. It is sad to see him go so early but if going while doing the work that you love is any consolation, he went out on the job that he loved.

This is not a blizzard...

It snowed today, our first snow of the season. As a result, please indulge me in my annual rant entitled “Are you all a bunch of freaking morons?”

Seriously, is there a single person in this town who knows how to drive?

Understand that we received an inch of snow today. No more, no less. Even without treating the streets an inch of snow should not prove to be a hindrance to anyone. Yes, things will be sloppy and slick but the roads are in no way impassible in this condition. Yet we have people leaving work early, avoiding the office and spinning out on the roads all because they seem to be completely oblivious as to how to drive in the snow.

As a guide to those of you who were not granted with common sense, here is all you need to do. 1) Go slower than you usually drive. 2) Give people space because you can’t brake as quickly. 3) If you feel that traction is going to be a problem drop down to a lower gear. There is a reason why your automatic transmission has those numbers 1, 2 and 3 after D. 4) When you clean the snow off your car don’t just clean off the front windshield. And don’t feel proud of yourself for cleaning the rear windshield as well. Clean off the roof of your car and your front and rear hoods. If you don’t all of that snow ends up either on your windshield or the windshield of the guy behind you.

See, that’s not too difficult. I lived through Chicago winters driving a Grand Am with no ground clearance. If I can get around following these rules I don’t know why other people can’t.

I’m embarrassed that events were cancelled tonight because of the snow. (Well, that’s in general to my usual embarrassment about Kansas City. You know that whole “evolution is a myth” thing really doesn’t make you proud of where you happen to find yourself.) This isn’t bad weather at all. I can understand cancellations when there are four or five inches of snow on the ground or during ice storms. But this is like cancelling due to rain.

I’ve never quite understood this town when it comes to snow. If I was in Arkansas or Oklahoma (why I haven’t the clue) I could understand people freaking out due to snow. There it would be a once every five or ten year event and the city wouldn’t have the equipment to handle it. But every year KC gets four or five snowstorms with one really good half a foot storm. Nothing unusual about this at all yet from watching the news you would get the impression that people are storing provisions in anticipation of not being able to dig out of their homes. It’s just bizarre.

Remember that I really like snow. It makes driving a pain and I’ve shoveled more driveways in my time than I would like to admit but there is one huge benefit to a nice snowstorm. It makes the world a lot prettier. At this time of year everything is dark and gloomy and I can go an entire day without seeing the sun. Drive to work in the dark, spend the day in a cubicle where I have to walk around a corner to see a window, and then drive home in the dark. Even when the sun is out all you see are leafless trees and brown grass. Snow creates a clean palate for the world.

Oh well, tomorrow I’ll go to work along with everyone in their SUV’s doing their best to insure that global warming causes an end to winter as we know it. Enjoy the snow while it lasts kids.