Tag Schedules

Let It Snow

Michael Leave a comment
2020 has been a pretty unusual year, virtually. We have all adapted to some pretty unusual circumstances, virtually. And we have had some measure of success in carrying on with our lives, virtually. We are working virtually, worshipping virtually, entertaining virtually, schooling virtually, and yesterday a brand new foray, virtually.
 
Western Pennsylvania does not do well with snow. I don’t know why. Ski resorts do well but otherwise most people panic at the suggestion there may be a white coating covering their spaces. When the weather nerds forecasted twelve hours of nonstop snow with an accumulation of up to 9 inches of the stuff, not a jug of milk, loaf of bread, or roll of toilet paper was safe on its shelf down at the local market. (See here if I lost you with that one.) One thing Western Pennsylvanians do well on snowy days is “snow days.” Schools, work, and other semi-essential components of life just shut down, or a less dramatic response issue a “delayed opening” or “early dismissal” order. So it wasn’t unexpected with a forecast of snow starting to accumulate in the late morning hours that local school districts would consider an early dismissal. And in fact one did. And with that we entered a new dimension, virtually.
 
A suburban Pittsburgh district declared an early dismissal for Wednesday due to the impending inclement weather. But the district is on remote learning. It was as far as I have been able to ascertain, the first virtual snow day on record.
 
It gets better. Not sarcastic better. Seriously better. This was actually a sort of planned “virtual snow day” evidence by the touching letter the district superintendent sent to all the parents Tuesday evening. In it she asked all instruction to stop at 11am and everyone to “let go of the stress and worry of school.” 
 
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all had the opportunity to just let go of stress, to start being happy, to enjoy what we have. Oh wait, we do! It shouldn’t take a snow storm to create happy memories. Two weeks ago I semi-issued a semi-challenge to recall one happy memory from 2020 each day in December as we close in on the end of this virtually unhappy year. I have been and I have been saving them so I when I think nothing good ever happens I can tangibly point to a year’s worth of good in one nobody wants to remember.
 
So, in the words or my new favorite educator, go make a snow angel, build a fort, or bake cookies. Take time for you and your family and enjoy the wonders of this season. Although I would argue that every season holds wonders.  
 
Please don’t wait for a snow day to let go of stress and worry.
 
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Late for a Very Important Date

Michael 1 Comment

Hey, I’m really late!  Sorry about that.

I (almost) always post on Monday and Thursday and yesterday was Monday and I didn’t. You might have noticed. If you didn’t, I’m crushed. And now I’m quickly running out of Tuesday if I want to be just a day late. I hope nobody has been traumatized by not having my ramblings to read but I have a good excuse.

You see, Sunday and Monday were killer days for me and not because I lost an hour sleep Saturday night. Actually I slept the same number of hours Saturday night as I do on any other Saturday night so what I lost was an hour of awake time on Sunday. But since I was out a couple of hours past my regular Sunday bedtime I got it and more back. That just made me want to sleep late on Monday but I couldn’t because I had a day’s worth of appointments to keep. I guess I finally lost that hour of sleep Sunday night. Maybe three.

So let me just tell you about my last couple days.

Sunday started as a normal day with my normal chores which usually include writing a post for Monday. But since Monday was going to include some time with the tax preparer for this year’s extraction I spent what would have been writing time gathering forms, receipts, and other dreaded paperwork. I would have written Sunday night but I was at a hockey game, hence the late bedtime on Sunday. I would have written before the game but I had Dinner with Daughter instead.

Speaking of the hockey game, two fans sitting to my left intrigued me. I think they were fans. I couldn’t tell because they were conversing in a language I neither understood nor even recognized which covers almost all languages other than English. And a few dialects of that also. But I think they were hockey fans because not only were they there at a hockey game, they were very enthusiastic about it. Cheers break all language barriers.

Also at the game, sitting in front of my daughter was a young fan and I could tell indeed he was a fan because he not only spoke English, he also spoke it in my regional dialect and he spoke it very loud. And from what I heard he’s going to be a really good hockey fan for a lot of years to come. I’d say he was around 9 or 10 years old and he was explaining the game to his (presumably) father. And explaining it correctly! Gotta love the young fans.

So that wiped out all potential writing time on Sunday. Monday was going to be filled with lots of doctors’ appointments and the tax review. Every 3 or 4 months I make the rounds of most of my doctors. Who I don’t see on one round I get to the following quarter. I like to see them all in one day so I can…well, I’m not sure why but it seems to work. So I thought I’d write a post between appointments. I had a pretty good chunk of time between appointments 2 and 3 and figured I’d sit in somebody’s lobby with my trusty tablet and peck away. Except…

Except I was hungry so I ate instead. I would have included visual evidence here but I didn’t think of it until I left the diner. It was a good diner. Diners are always good and this one even had its 15 minutes of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives fame. If you ever get there be sure to have the Reuben omelet. Yum.

After lunch I had appointments 3 and 4 and then Tax Guy and that got me home just in time to be hungry again, this time for dinner. After dinner I sat down fully expecting to write the long delayed post when I saw that Roman Holiday was on TV. I love you guys (at least I presume I do if I was to ever meet you) but I am fanatically in love with Audrey Hepburn (regardless of the fact that I never met her either). That took me to the point of exhaustion and even though I love you (see above) I needed some sleep.

ImLateAnd then it became Tuesday. Tuesday is a dialysis day so I knew I had a few hours ahead of me with little (like nothing) to do so I thought I’d write this then. Once I got all hooked up and settled in I thought I’d check today’s paper, then the doctor was making her rounds, the social worker hers, then I went back to the paper, then I checked my email, then I remembered “I have to write a post!”

And this is what I came up with. Now go ahead and tell me I don’t love you guys (see above) (again).

Now I just have to go home, eat dinner (yes, again), proof this (absolutely!), and post it (finally.) You’re welcome!

 

A Real Reality Check

Michael Leave a comment

We present to you our favorite least favorite happenings from the past week.  Call it a rant review.

Bathrooms.  Everybody has a favorite bathroom story.  We have a favorite bathroom question.  She of We asks why Ladies ’ Rooms always are so filthy.  Amid the toilet paper on the floor, the water on the sink, the garbage around but not quite in the trash, can you actually say any real ladies are stopping by?  Is it because of the amount of time women spend in the room that they give up on niceties?  Perhaps because women line everything with toilet paper so their bodies don’t actually touch anything in the room that when the paper slips off the seat or the handle or the sink they aren’t going to be the ones to pick it up.  Naturally that led to the follow up question: if they aren’t going to touch anything while out why don’t they wait to get home?

Airlines:  You have to be very lucky and want to travel between just the right two cities in America to get a direct flight to Anywhere, USA.  Otherwise, it’s “connecting through” on your itinerary.  Our question:  When does a layover become a rant?  He of We was connecting through Houston last week.  That’s just about halfway between east and west and that’s where United decided to have him switch planes.  When he arrived at the halfway point he discovered that his connection was going to be 3 hours and 10 minutes late in taking off.   Apparently United ran out of planes and was sticking by the initial plan to fly the plane that was due to arrive at 5pm even though it didn’t leave its departure city (4 hours away) until after 4pm.  The delay was 10 minutes less than the expected flight time to He of We’s final destination putting him there not slightly before 9pm but slightly after midnight.  Add three hours due to time zone changes and it was really a long day.  United was good enough to recognize the inconvenience they caused and offered everyone waiting at the gate for those 3 hours free soft drinks.  The women probably made a mess of the Ladies’ Room.

Stupid questions:  A variety of stupid questions were asked of us last week.  
     “Are these all the same?”  Clerk at the everything store when ringing up 20 CDs.  (Why we were buying 20 CDs will be coming up in a future post but no, there were indeed all different.)  
     Will you be wanting any dessert?”  Waitress AFTER she placed our check on the table.
     “Is that in the morning?”  Wake-up call operator responding to He of We’s request for a call at 6am.”

Reservations:  On the aforementioned trip that He of We got to wait for 3 hours to finish, he did eventually arrive at his destination and the hotel there.  Our question is why do we bother?  His reservation was for 4 nights in an up-graded, non-smoking room.  Upon check-in the clerk told him he could have 2 nights in such a room.  After that the room he was going to be put in would be unavailable and they would move him to a different, but similar room.  He of We asked the obvious question, was there anywhere in the hotel he could stay for all 4 nights without having to move.  Of course, he could have 4 nights in a standard room.  There’s a follow-up question in there somewhere but we can’t figure out exactly what it is.   

So those were our questions of the week.  Or maybe, those were our questions of the weak. 

Now, that’s what we think. Really. How ‘bout you?