On Impending Winter Weather

I'm always excited when I hear about "winter weather" possibly headed in my general direction. It's not that I'm thrilled to shovel my way out of oodles of snow, but I'm always thinking... maybe I'll get a snow day at work. Yes, it sounds nuts to be wishing for a snow day from a grown up job that doesn't include being a teacher, but instead a disgruntled cubicle dweller, but I feel like, maybe with enough snow, it might happen.

To paint a picture, the majority of the people I work with are paranoid when it comes to matters of weather. Rumor has it that a snow storm is coming our way (and sweeping most of the Midwest and northeast as well) and it's likely to bring 10-12" our way. This is what the weather experts are predicting. Of course, the term expert should used to loosely when it comes to describing the weather personalities. Usually, they hype everyone up, at least here in the Mitten and a foot of supposed snow usually equates to 3-5" and leaving me disappointed and bemused with the hysteria that I witness when "storms" head our way.

The talking began this morning around cubicle square about the what ifs? "What if we can't make it into work at 9AM to open the office on Wednesday? Should we come in at 10:00? Should we have a snow day?" Since weather is something of an obsession of mine, I immediately started dredging through weather.com to check the status. From what I gather, the heaviest snow will accumulate in my part of the world from 3-5AM on Wednesday morning. Of course, it's supposed to snow for hours on end, but to a lesser intensity. It got me thinking, how much damage could 2 hours of snow possibly do? My prediction boys and girls, this isn't going to be a big deal at all.

On Winter Ails

It's that time of the season, cold and flu season. Of course, I suppose that technically started in October. Regardless, cold and flu are running rampant in my circle. Down in Cubicle Square, we're passing the cold around like a cheap floozy passes the Clap. I actually left work two hours early today, and I even felt guilty doing so since, this really isn't the worst I've felt. However, I'm taking into consideration my lovely snowboarding get away which is just over a week away, I'd hate to be sniffling and coughing all over the slopes. Yes, rest is prudent at this juncture. Depending on how I wake up feeling tomorrow, I may even **gasp** take the whole day off.

I've spent the additional two hours that my sickness has granted me at home wiping my nose with less than desirable Kleenex, the kind that makes your nose raw, and watching Season 2 of Dexter on DVD. I took a break to pass out on the love seat for a few hours only to wake up with a "crick" in my neck. That's what I get for sleeping on a love seat.

I then decided I should fire up the ol' computer and do some more work on my book, well, look at how hard I'm working. I'm feeling the creativity flow through me, but I don't want to direct it to where it's needed the most. Here it's almost February and I'm hoping to get this thing out in the world by April or May. Not at this rate my friend. I could make excuses and say, "Oh, I'm not working on it because I don't feel good, I'm not 100%." However, I'm not working on it all the time when I am 100% so that excuse is just a bit... weak.

I watched Stranger than Fiction last night, a fantastic movie in my mind. It made me long to be as eccentric as Emma Thompson as Karen Eiffel in 20 years. Of course, my husband drops me the line, "You don't write enough." Ouch. It's because I'm a snob when it comes to my writing. I'll jot down ideas that come to me, but I won't work on more than one piece at a time. Example, I'm working on my manuscript right now, nothing else matters. There will be no starting the next project or jotting down a short story. I'm a one piece at a time kind of girl.

On Petulance

I've been feeling a bit out of sorts lately. I'd like to blame it on my day job. My pay was expectantly cut last week, a cup of perfectly shitty, scalding hot coffee was dumped all over me last week, and I've inadvertently become the "go-to girl" around cubicle way. Of course... it's been that way for 8 months now. I loathed my job just a bit less when I could sit here for my 8 hours, keep to myself and whittle away at my crummy paper pushing.

I haven't worked on my re-writes in the last week or so. I'm being terrible with the procrastination. Speaking of, I've had my new tabs for my license plate for nearly a month and haven't put them on yet. Yeah, they're expired, I'll be busted if the 5-0 decides to pull me over.

In the long term, I think I should mention now that I don't have very high hopes for 2011, but maybe I'll be wrong and it will turn out to be a stellar year... but I won't hold my breath.

On Aging

Yesterday my mother turned 65. She wasn't overly thrilled about it, to say the least. When my father turned 65 last year, I made him a disaster of a birthday cake from scratch. It tasted like a sponge, with thin chocolate sauce (that was supposed to be frosting) dripped over it. It was ugly, it had no taste, but he ate it anyway because he's a champ. He just ate it with a bowl of ice cream.

Tomorrow, I'll be preparing a birthday breakfast feast for the parents. I'm thinking pancakes, eggs, English muffins, mimosas, (veg)bacon, (veg)sausage, etc. I can cook a mean breakfast (I think) so at least it wouldn't be a total disaster (hopefully.)

It's strange watching my parents get older, and unfortunately, imminent. It seems like just yesterday they were younger, I was younger. Time seems to be flying by entirely too quickly.

While I didn't get along too well with my parents in my formative teen years, and really, what teenager gets along fully with their parents at that age? I certainly carry on with them quite well now, and love them very much. So it warms me to be able to do something special for them every now and then because they did so much for me growing up.