Christmas Shopping In The Snow. No problem!

I'm not 100% recovered from the flu yet. I tire easily and I still have a cough that comes up every few minutes with the occasional slime my lungs are trying to expel. Ugh. At least my appetite seems to be recovering a bit. I've been able to eat cereal, leftover pizza, and a turkey etoufee. I just can't eat anything quickly. That might not be a bad thing actually as it could help me lose some weight.

Since being incapacitated with the flu for a week really put a crimp in a lot of my plans I used this weekend to get some of them in gear. Job #1: Christmas shopping. The original plan was to use Amazon.com so I could avoid the holiday shopping crowds. I looked at my parents' lists and realized I could get something for both of them at the same big box electronics store.

The good news about this big box was it wasn't in or near a huge mall. In fact it's a bit of a pain to get into and why this particular building has been 4 different stores since it was built. I took a back way to the store and didn't hit any traffic. Looking around I was surprised the overall traffic wasn't too bad. It only took me around 30 minutes to grab four items for Mom and Dad Hart. Another 10 or 15 minutes to get through the line to pay for them and I was out the door.

5 days before Christmas and I think I'm already finished. This could be a record for me.

Survival Of The Fittest Part II

Except for a few hours on Monday morning to cover some hearings I've been near death at home the entire week. I'm working on the assumption it is the regular flu. Fever, aches, nasty cough, no energy, no appetite. Compared to people suffering with diarrhea or vomiting or both I have the better symptoms I suppose. Small consolation as from Sunday to Wednesday I still felt like I was near death. Constant coughing, no energy at all, the inability to sleep since I'm coughing all the time, and the constant desire to drink water, apple juice, orange juice, and whatever flavor of Crystal Light is handy at the moment. I bought a 3 liter container of apple juice Monday afternoon and finished it this morning.

For the past few days I've been napping and sleeping whenever I want. Monday and Tuesday I could only be awake for about 3 hours at a time. Sleep in my bed, sleep on the futon, sleep in the recliner chair, it didn't matter. Sometimes I moved only for the reason of sleeping someplace different. I'm not sure how much I actually slept given all the coughing I was doing.

Wednesday was both a highlight and a low light. The fever finally broke and I could actually eat one sandwich for a meal. The bad part was when I stepped out of the shower and suddenly felt vertigo. You know in the movies when the helicopter is hit and the alarms start going off while the camera is suddenly shaky to enhance the feeling of danger? I swear I heard, BREEEP!!! BREEEP!!! BREEP!!! in the back of my mind as I reached for the toilet but couldn't find it. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I figured sitting down as a better position than standing up. And...nothing...happened. I put my head on the sink, drank some water, and after a few minutes the vertigo disappeared. Much ado over nothing, but for a scant few seconds I was honestly scared. I knew if I passed out I would likely hit my head on something making things even worse. I didn't want to die like Elvis on the toilet.

Today I feel vaguely normal, call it 60%. I can talk on the phone for a few minutes, something Mom Hart doesn't quite understand. Hi Mom I'm calling to let you know I'm still alive, not wanting to go to the Emergency Room, but I'm not wanting to get into a long story of the day. I'm not certain why she doesn't understand that.

Small Town gave me a call back today as well. They've had a few of their own funny issues without me. They're glad I'm not dead and if I can make it in tomorrow for some work and the holiday lunch that would be good. Umm..upon gazing at the calendar there appears to be quite a number of hearings tomorrow. I'm rather surprised. The real question is how many of them are false positives? I suspect a lot of them have been continued, but I won't know until I arrive.

I'm hoping by Monday I can be at 100%. I'm tired of feeling tired.

Survival Of The Fittest.

Yesterday it was obvious I was coming down with some winter crude. A cough, some phlegm, and a general feeling of tiredness. I even woke up last night twice just to drink some water as I felt incredibly dehydrated.

Today's mission is simple: 1) drink plenty of fluids, 2) stay warm and dry, 3) don't do too much and exert myself, and 4) a good nap after the football game.

The Boss is taking a vacation day tomorrow so I'm the only one that can do the few hearings we have tomorrow. Luckily the courts are shutting down for the holiday season so we don't have many hearings through the end of the year. I'm just hoping I can kill whatever bug is in my system and be okay for tomorrow. I've been sick at work before and it is always miserable. If worse comes to worse I suppose I could just leave after the last hearing. I hope we don't have anything in the late afternoon if that is the case.

I think this job is trying to kill me.

Officially Winter

The weekend had some obsolutely freezing weather. What was a minor chance of snow ended up being an inch. I just happened to glance out my bedroom window and noticed all the white stuff. Surprise!

Instead of staying at home with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoying the view I had to go into work. Ugh. Last week was so obnoxious I'm still recovering from it. A drive in the first snowfall was not what I needed. For whatever reason people forget how to drive in snow the first time it comes back. SLOW DOWN YOU MORONS! Seriously, just slow down, don't tailgate, anticipate your movements and you're usually okay.

I never got above 55 m.p.h. on the interstate and 45 m.p.h. on the highway. I squeezed past two wrecks and numerous slideoffs. I followed my own advice and got into Small Town without any big problems. It took an extra 20 minutes so I'm glad I left 15 minutes early. So much for getting an early start to the day.

One day I hope to enjoy a snow day. I remember when snow was fun and not the enemy. I still want that cup of hot chocolate.

I Admit I Like The Cold And Snow.

It isn't so much snow to interfere with driving, but enough to be pretty. I like the fact the cold keeps people inside. To me the air is brisk and forces me to feel alive. I have to fight the cold and the wind. I love it. Cold enough to feel alive, but not so cold it makes you want to immediately retreat back inside.

I'm weird and I know it.

I Think I'm Getting Used To The Arctic Blast.

You know you've seen too many arctic blasts of cold air when you can tell the difference between 10 degrees and 0 degrees.

*Stepping outside when the temperature is only 10 degrees.*

WHEW! Damn it's cold!

*Stepping outside when the temperature is only 0 degrees.*

F&*$@#!!!!!!!!

This morning was at 0 degrees so you know what I said.

Not The Way I Wanted To Spend A Personal Day.

I was somewhat looking forward to today. A day with no hearings means I can finally attend to the mountain of files in my office. Assuming nothing weird occurred, a big assumption, I could easily get over 20 files out of my office. If I were truly focused perhaps over 30 files.

General Winter had a different idea. The snow in the morning was a bit of a problem, but only delayed my arrival by 15-20 minutes. The snow we had overnight on the other hand was a knockout punch. Big City had 10 inches of snow as of early this morning and it was still coming down.

I brushed enough snow off of my door to get inside. It was above 20 degrees so the engine fired up without a hitch. I spent the next 20 minutes brushing a good 8 inch layer of snow off my hood, roof, trunk, and windows along with a thin layer of ice. The snow was well above the bottom of my bumper. That isn't a good sign at all. When your bumper becomes a plow you tend not to have enough power to get through it. I also had no idea how much traction my tires would have. A neighbor came out and wondered if she should even bother to try to get to work today. I told her wait 2 minutes and see if I was stuck, then make her decision.

I made it about four feet.

I left the car running and went back to my place to find a snow shovel. I wasn't worried about my car being stolen. I dug around my car for 30 minutes to clear the snow away from my tires and undercarriage. I tried to rock the car out of the snow and made it a foot back towards the parking spot. I shoveled for another 20 minutes or so and decided to try again. I noticed another half inch of snow was on my roof again. After shifting into first or second and then shifting into reverse I managed to rock myself back into the parking spot.

Around 8:30 I called work to see if anyone was even there. One clerk answered. She lives in Small Town and normally has a 5 minute drive to work. Even with her Jeep it took her nearly a half hour. Another clerk managed to pick up a third clerk. There was no word on the Boss or others. I told the Clerk we had no hearings today and while I wasn't giving up it wasn't looking good that I would make it in.

I walked up to the street. It wasn't clear, but it was plowed and passable. An old Geo Metro drove by me. I figured if a Metro could drive on the snow I could too. If I could make it 300 feet I could get to the street. A neighbor had a big Ford Bronco similar to what O.J. Simpson had in that infamous slow chase in L.A. I saw him get stuck in the snow for about 10 minutes. If that thing has 4 wheel drive and if he was smart enough to engage it and he was still having problems I knew I didn't have a chance!

I think I'll just stay home and put on a comfy sweatshirt.

EDIT: By noon the sky was sunny and a truck with a plow had come through. I only needed to shovel the snow wall the plow created. I'm amazed at the difference just a few hours can make. 12 inches of snow is not a problem right now. Go figure.

I Don't Think It Will Be As Bad This Time.

Today is the anniversary of the infamous Blizzard of '78. I think we got 10 inches in less than 12 hours. I just remember A LOT of snow on the ground the following morning and being stuck inside. Tonight we're getting the first wave of two snow storms. I'll admit it is pretty, but we're only looking at 2 or 3 inches for tonight and perhaps another 2 0r 3 inches tomorrow. Of course if the storm travels in a different direction maybe we'll have 10 inches in the morning for all I know.

I can handle snow. Ice is what I fear. I suspect the commute will be longer tomorrow. A good thing I have no hearings tomorrow. At least I filled up my tank with cheap gas this afternoon so if I'm stranded I"ll be fine. Not that I'm anticipating being stranded, but some idiot could always run me off the road. Times like this I miss my old Jeep. Thanks to the Blizzard of '78 my parents bought that big old Jeep. I miss the unstopable nature of the old beast, though I don't miss the 10 miles per gallon on leaded, yes leaded, gas that thing guzzled down.

Anyone else have an old car they miss?

Snowzilla Can't Escape The Law!

This story has it all. 1) A 2 story tall snowman. 2) The snowman's name is Snowzilla. 3) All this clean fun is dashed by a city code enforcement officer.

When you can't build a snowman in your own front yard I feel the Man has gone too far!

Winter Has Arrived With A Good Tailwind!

I don't know if it is actually snowing or if the wind is blowing what little snow there is around all over the place. When I see large flags flying straight I know there's a good wind blowing. The weather lady on TV is saying with the wind chill it could be in the negative teens tonight. NEGATIVE TEENS for a wind chill!!!!

With so little daylight (it is the winter solstice today) and the cold temps I simply want to hibernate this time of year. Someone wake me up when spring arrives.

Let's Avoid The Icy Death Please.

Winter may start on Sunday but she has already arrived. Bad enough temps have been so cold the last week that my temperature gauge barely moves during the long commute from Big City to Small Town, but to have the entire road coated in a thin layer of ice is just too much. Given the number of accidents I saw and the times I saw some cars and trucks slip a bit I'm surprised my commute only took an additional 45 minutes. Sadly I'm not surprised by the number of idiots who decided to go nearly full speed. 4-wheel drive does not provide traction on ice people!

I hope I'm not as exhausted when I arrive at work tomorrow. I seriously needed a nap after keeping my car steady on today's drive home.

Random Thoughts

It was nice to have a 4 day holiday. Okay I worked 4 hours on Friday just to catch up on a few things. Key word sadly was 'few.' At least I got the files out of my inbox and got rid of a few things.

Winter has arrived. When you wake up to a half inch of snow today it is an easy conclusion to make. A shame it melted away by this evening.

How the hell is my checkbook off by around $500.00 after I've balanced it? I'll take a closer look at it during lunch tomorrow. Perhaps I added something when I should have subtracted, or transposed some numbers, but it balanced last month! My checkbook always used to balance, but the last few years it always seems like my checkbook is off by some pocket change every month. I'm convinced the bank has some program to randomly steal or deposit all the half penny transactions in a branch and play with my account. Give me a break, a personal checking account isn't that hard! You only deal with addition or subtraction.

For all the money I pay Sallie Mae couldn't they provide the envelopes to send in my student loan payments? My credit card companies and utilities send envelopes, so why not Sallie Mae?

The final episodes of Battlestar Galactica start January 16, 2009. It's about damned time! I really hope writing and stories pick up. Season 3 and Season 4 had some clunkers for stories. The Cylons may have had a plan, but I'm not sure the writers did.

Speaking of the SciFi Channel, why is SciFi canceling Stargate: Atlantis? I believe they're having the best ratings ever or pretty close and SciFi decides to can the show.

How did a pathetic San Francisco 49ers team gain 195 yards of offense, score a measly 10 points, allow the Buffalo Bills 350 yards of offense, and STILL WIN THE GAME? San Fran 10: Buffalo 3!

I would like to thank LSU for choking in the back half of the season. Your losses assured I would get 3rd place in my pool. I'm still mad Ball State was taken the pick before mine! 12-0 would be so convenient for my pool right now.

Thanksgiving leftovers are already in the tupperware for tomorrow. Cheap and yummy leftovers are good for lunch. I hope I can stand them until Wednesday since I have plenty.

Ice. Why Did It Have To Be Ice?

I can handle snow. I can deal with cold and brisk winds. Ice is the most dangerous expression of winter. In some ways I like the sound of ice hitting the windows. I like looking at the normal things covered in ice. I do hate driving in the ice. I do hate driving with others in the ice.

Ice is wonderful as long as you're inside and don't need to be in the middle of it.