It’s All Down Hill from Here

October 28, 2024… the worst day of the year.

Why?

I had to go out this morning to run a couple of errands. I needed to go to the supermarket to grab something I can cook for dinner tonight. As I was putting on my coat I asked Siri to tell me how the current weather looked. She answered on our bedroom Homepod and said it was snowing.

Bullshit. I looked out the window. Everything was wet, as if we had a little rain not long ago, but there was no snow falling. I felt better about the state of the world in that exact moment, but the seed had been planted. The signs pointed to today being a serious downer.

When I got to the supermarket and got out of my car it happened. I saw the first snowflake of the year. It was followed by a second and a third and maybe a few more, but that was it. In the time it took me to walk from my car to the building it had started and stopped. When I left a few minutes later it had not started again, and it continued to not snow all the way home.

It doesn’t matter though. The first snow flakes have fallen. Winter has truly arrived. It is all down hill from here, folks. It’s all over.

Frost

I am working from home this morning, but my wife Jen is not. She left the house at about 8:00am. I walked her to the door and watched her go. When we first looked outside we saw it.

There was ice on the car.

October 15, 2024… the first instance of winter frost.

Damn it.

I hate winter.

Not Today

I woke up early having every intention of driving in to the office today. I’m supposed to work in the office twice a week (on average) and I’ve only been in once this week. I can’t go tomorrow because I am only working half a day tomorrow and they only want us coming in on full days. So today is my last chance, mathematically speaking.

I got up early, like I said, and looked out the window.

Snow.

A lot of it.

Not like mountains, but enough to convince me to not want to drive 44 miles to the office. I guess I will work three days in the office next week.

Ugh, crud.

Weather or Not

I made a pun in the title of this post. Did you like it? It takes the phrase “whether or not” and replaces whether with it’s homonym, weather because the post is going to be about the weather. Get it? I feel so friggin’ clever I could spontaneously combust*!

We’re supposed to get a nor’easter this week. The forecast yesterday said 3-6 inches of snow on Wednesday into Thursday. I just checked the accuweather website and it’s still calling for some snow on Wednesday but no real accumulation. Then Thursday into Friday we’re still looking at 3-6 inches.

I am taking my father to a doctors appointment on Wednesday and I am working in the office on Thursday. Wednesday is looking good but Thursday might be in trouble. We’ll have to see.

The long range forecast includes something I am looking forward to. When the temperature outside hits 60 degrees I like to open the windows. If the forecast is correct, next week I’ll be opening the windows. It stands as more evidence that I am now officially a really old fart, but stuff like that pleases me immensely. Come on, weather. Let’s let me open the windows. Just stop snowing first, m’kay?


*That’s sarcasm. I am not clever at all. Not even a little bit.

Mother Nature’s Revenge

If you live in New England like I do, you may want to not look at the weather forecast.

Wendesday… snow.

Thursday… snow.

We’re going to get a Nor’easter… in April.

Damn it, Mother Nature. Why must you be such an insufferable asshole? Really. What a jerk!

It’s still a couple of days away at least, so maybe the forecast will change or turn out to be completely wrong. Maybe we won’t get snow after all. I’m not betting on it. If winter is going to give spring one last kick in the nards, it’ll be like this.

Good thing I didn’t already plant my peanuts!*


*I haven’t written a post about it for months, but I am still planning on trying to grow some peanuts this year. I am an idiot and this is the proof.

Welcome to Spring (He Said Sarcastically)

I posted yesterday about how happy I was that Spring officially started last night at 11:06pm my time.

I woke up this morning all pleased that it was officially Spring at last, even though the temperature was still low and I knew it wouldn’t make any real difference to anything at all.

Then, while driving to work, mother nature did what she often does. She kicked me in the nuts.

It started to snow.

Well, of course it did!

Happy “Spring” everyone.

Want Some Good News?

Hey everyone, want to hear some good news? Some happy news? Something to cheer you up after months and months of gloom?

Spring starts today. In the Eastern Time Zone in the United States (where I live), Spring officially starts at 11:06pm.

That sound you just heard was my emphatic sigh of relief. Sure, I will likely be asleep when the change happens (I hope so at least, I am beat today) but I will celebrate it just as well.

Kiss my ass, winter. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.

Curling

I just asked the wordpress.com A.I. Assistant this question: Why is curling a thing?

Curling has a rich history dating back to the 16th century in Scotland, where it originated as a popular pastime during the long winter months. The sport involves players sliding stones on a sheet of ice towards a target area, while teammates use brooms to sweep the ice in front of the stone to control its speed and direction. Over time, curling has evolved into a highly strategic and competitive sport, with a dedicated global following. Its appeal lies in the skillful combination of precision, strategy, teamwork, and the unique dynamic of the game being played on ice. Additionally, the social aspects of the sport, including camaraderie and sportsmanship, contribute to its enduring popularity.

This whole post is an inside joke kinda thing, but apparently there are people who play the sport of Curling in Georgia… a place that doesn’t have ice. Who knew? Atlanta has twice had an NHL team. The first one booked it out of town and ended up in Calgary, where there is a lot of ice. The other booked it out of town and ended up in Winnipeg, where there is also a lot of ice.

So yeah… curling… in Georgia. Who knew?


This isn’t meant to bad mouth Curling. During every Winter Olympics, whenever I stumble across Curling I find myself completely fascinated with it, even though I have zero knowledge of anything that’s happening. It’s kinda weird and almost creepy. Still, come February 2026, when we have the next Winter Olympics, you can bet your bottom (Canadian) dollar that I’ll find myself glued to the TV.


Speaking of the NHL, the Bruins got spanked by the Blues last night. It made me sad. I need the Bruins to go on a nice win streak. Granted, I’d rather they play crappy for a while now than have them do it in the playoffs like they did last year.

Picturesque Winter Crap

I hate snow. Even when we only get an inch or so like we did last night, I hate it. I even hate it when it makes everything look all pretty and picturesque and winter wonderlandy like this morning. I just hate snow!

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Hey snow, I got your winter wonderland right here. Jerk.

Random Thursday Thoughts

The first random thought on this fine Thursday afternoon is that it actually is Thursday and not Friday or Saturday. I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago that my inner calendar/clock is a mess this week and I am not quite sure why, but I was convinced all day Tuesday that it was Thursday, and then I was also convinced all day Wednesday that it was Thursday. Now that it actually is Thursday I can’t decide if my brain is convinced that it is Friday or Saturday, which doesn’t make sense because I don’t work on Saturdays but I’ve been working all day today and still at times I’ve felt like it was Saturday.

My brain is broken. Here’s a cat to make it feel better…

Most work days fine me playing podcasts through the Apple HomePod that’s next to my desk in the new office space in my step son’s room. The last couple of days have been different. I’ve been listening to music. Today has been a playlist made up of all of Peter Gabriel’s original, non-soundtrack, non-cover/tribute records both as a solo artist and with Genesis. I made this playlist a few days ago with the idea being I would shuffle it. Today I started from the first track of his first solo record and let it run. The transition from his second record to his third is utterly stunning. The first two records are good. Not great, but good. The third… it’s weirder, it’s a totally different sound/approach/feel, and it is so infinitely better than what he did in the few years before it that it made my head spin a little. I just started album number five… So… I think it’s safe to say it is the masterpiece of his solo career and again the improvement is dazzling. 

Here’s a cat to help you appreciate Peter Gabriel the freakin’ legend…

It is January 25th today. It is 50 degrees outside. I actually went outside without a jacket on this morning. Granted, my shoes sank into the mud field that once was my yard, but other than that it was nice. This time of year the air can actually be painful if you go outside for a couple of quick minutes and are not bundled up. Today did not hurt at all.

Okay, that will do for random thoughts as my lunch break ends. I have some paperwork to finish up today and then I am making hamburgers for dinner. My wife made that request last night and I am more than happy to oblige. 

Happy Thursday afternoon, everyone… assuming it actually is Thursday. Who knows, right?