Smitty has taken to calling me William Shatner in the last couple of years due to a verbal tic where I pause for no apparent reason while talking. I thought he was making it up until recently when my cube mate pointed out that it sounds like I've forgotten my name every time I answer the phone. Apparently, it was "discussed." So, I've picked up the mantle and run with it, as I like to think it gives me character.
I love cold weather, really, I do, but when every time I leave the house, I feel as though I'm taking my life into my hands, I'm over it. Our back stairs have remained a solid sheet of ice since Sunday night. Have we met? I'm not graceful. I fell into a hole in the yard and tore a ligament, I trip over carpet, walk into doorjambs; I don't need extra obstacles in my path.
And even if I make it safely to the car, then I have to contend with the dreaded "black ice" and the knowledge that my fellow motorists are not that bright. Everyone drove really slowly and cautiously for two days, and despite the fact that there is still ice hiding on the roadways, they have now taken to slamming on brakes, edging into my lane, and not letting me merge off the part of the highway they couldn't sand. I put on my hat with ear flaps and gave my most pitiful look to one guy until he let me merge. I'm sure he thought I had missed the short bus, but the Aveo doesn't handle ice well.
Also, I determined the number of days that Smitty and I can spend in one place together is 4. After that, we resort to a certain level of primitive/Cops-like behavior where a fight could break out over the remote control or the last piece of cake. At one point Tuesday, I envisioned myself standing over him with a club in my hand wondering how we got to that point. We dearly love each other, don't get me wrong, but we need our outside-the-house time...like, a lot.
It's funny, when you're little, snow/ice days are so much fun, and now, after the initial "huh," it gets old pretty fast. Plus, we're trapped like the guy in "Misery" anytime it ices over due to our deathtrap-like driveway, so knowing that you can't go anywhere is also kind of a bummer. I remember a time when I was younger and it iced over, my dad made the brilliant calculation to back his '77 powder blue Chevette down our monster-hill driveway. It promptly drove off the side of the driveway, which is where it stayed for about 36 hours. I remember him being extremely pissed and us laughing, which caused further pissiness. I was not allowed to mimic this feat. Smitty wouldn't even let me attempt to walk down the driveway while he checked it...(see above mention of gracefulness)
On a completely unrelated note, I've been thinking a lot about this Arizona shooting for some reason. I think initially I was just irritated that Sarah Palin would put sights on a map of opposing politicians. I'm honestly not saying the shooting was her fault, but I think that very action is a perfect example of how completely "off" politics has become. No one really wants to become moderate, no one really wants to try to see the other's point of view. It's become "let's follow the loudest one or the one that's on TV the most because that must mean they're right."
The people who opposed Obama were never going to give any of his ideas a chance, and the same will be true if/when he gets re-elected, and the same will be true of the next President. I used to be so immersed in politics, that it's all I could think and breathe, and I genuinely am so disgusted with all of it, that I consciously try to block it out now. Even when I try to have conversations with friends, some of the things that are said make me lose respect for those friends, and we're never going to agree, so I've resolved, more or less, not to talk about it. I don't even have to respond to what's being said, and I get called names, or the negative rhetoric about Obama is the first thing out of the gate. I can be in church, of all places, and the message is basically, if you're a Democrat, you couldn't possibly be saved or religious or have a relationship with God. That one really infuriates me.
My take on it is this: A. I'm not interested in arguing; actual, constructive debate is what is needed by everyone, and B. I'm smarter than you, so just stop. (partially kidding on that last part) But I will say, that I purposely restrain what I could say to avoid sinking to their level because I don't see the merit in attacking another person, strictly based on their point of view.
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