And if You Thought Yesterday's Weather Report Was Fun.....

Today the evil flashing red thing had this to say:

"... SAFETY RULES FOR BLIZZARDS...

WHAT IS A BLIZZARD? AS DEFINED BY NOAA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE... A BLIZZARD OCCURS WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS OR FREQUENT GUSTS REACH 35 MPH AND SNOW OR BLOWING SNOW REDUCES VISIBILITIES TO 1/4 OF A MILE OR LESS... FOR AT LEAST THREE HOURS. THERE IS NO TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENT FOR A BLIZZARD.

BLIZZARDS ARE DANGEROUS. DOZENS OF AMERICANS DIE DURING MAJOR WINTER WEATHER EPISODES... EITHER DUE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL OR PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE COLD. OTHER HAZARDS CAN ALSO BE ATTRIBUTED TO WINTER WEATHER... SUCH AS VEHICULAR ACCIDENTS... STRUCTURE FIRES DUE TO DANGEROUS USE OF HEATERS AND BLOCKAGE OF VENTS DUE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL WHICH CAN LEAD TO CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES COULD ALSO OCCUR... WHICH CAN BE PROLONGED AS THE SNOW FALLS... MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR REPAIR CREWS TO RESTORE POWER.

WHEN BLIZZARDS ARE EXPECTED... YOU SHOULD DRESS FOR THE SEASON... ESPECIALLY WITH THE VERY COLD TEMPERATURES AND HIGH WINDS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. IF YOU HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE... WEAR LOOSE FITTING... LIGHTWEIGHT... WARM CLOTHES IN LAYERS. OUTER WEAR SHOULD BE TIGHTLY WOVEN... WATER REPELLENT AND HOODED. A HAT SHOULD BE WORN. HALF OF A PERSON'S BODY HEAT LOSS OCCURS FROM THE HEAD. THE MOUTH SHOULD BE COVERED TO PROTECT THE LUNGS FROM EXTREME COLD. MITTENS SHOULD BE WORN RATHER THAN GLOVES AND SHOULD BE SNUG AT THE WRIST. DO YOUR BEST TO REMAIN DRY. MELTING SNOW ON THE CLOTHES AS WELL AS PERSPIRATION WILL ADD TO THE DANGER OF FROSTBITE AND HYPOTHERMIA.

TO BE PREPARED FOR WINTER WEATHER... HERE ARE SOME ITEMS TO HAVE ON HAND AT HOME OR WORK:

A FLASHLIGHT AND EXTRA BATTERIES...."

I really don't like the sound of this one little bit. Why did I move here? Why God why?

Another depressing thing? I've noticed that my last few posts here are about the weather -- is that really the most important or exciting thing that happening in my life now, you ask? The answer, sadly, is yes. I need a life. Anyone got any suggestions???

So, while you're all out, enjoying your sunny warm weather in points south and west of Boston, think of me -- my power will probably be out, I'll be huddled under three to five blankets, I'll be trying to read by the light of a piddling candle, and the pipes will be freezing. Woe is me.


Sigh.




That is all.

Fucking Freeeeeezing, Man. Not Cool.

So, I see the little weather temp thing on the bottom of my screen flashing, and I click on it and it says that there's a severe weather warning in effect, so I click the link and it says:

"....FRIGID TEMPERATURES AND DANGEROUSLY WIND CHILL VALUES TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING..."

No shit, Sherlock. It's 11 degrees today, and that's the high -- it's only getting colder from here.... It continues:

"ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE WILL KEEP FRIGID TEMPERATURES AND DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILL VALUES TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE TO 5 TO 15 MPH TONIGHT. HOWEVER OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL DROP TO BETWEEN ZERO TO MINUS 15 DEGREES OVER THE INTERIOR... TO THE SINGLE NUMBERS ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST."

Wait a damn second here, sonny -- between ZERO and MINUS 15?! Does it even go that low???? What the fuck? It continues:

"THE COMBINATION OF NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH AND OVERNIGHT LOWS OF ZERO TO MINUS 15 DEGREES WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILL VALUES OF -14 TO -30 DEGREES TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING OVER INTERIOR NORTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS... CENTRAL AND WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS AND SOUTHWEST NEW HAMPSHIRE."

That just ain't right, man!!!! Argh. I could be here:



But instead, I'm here:



Ok, maybe not Siberia, but Boston doesn't look much better right now:



Brrrrrrrrr...........

That is all.

Feh.

It was totally Professor Plum.

In other news:
I haven't posted in a few days because I was gearing up for a big job interview. Which went well. They called me back for a second interview. We'll see how that goes. The upshot is that I now own a very hot black power suit (which, personally, I think that everyone should own). This will be good for interviews, hopefully future career opportunities, as well as the odd funeral. I'm sure it'll be useful. Really.

My California trip was nice, but mostly quiet. We alternated spending our time with Bil's family, my family and Bil's buddies from high school (and before) mostly. We did get the chance to steal Katie (our former roommate) away from work while she was on her break and hang out for a few minutes, but mostly our college-time friends were too busy to see us when we were in the area. Alas. We did get to see our cats who we abandoned in June when we moved to NH. Unfortunately, due to weather constraints and the fact that only I was flying back (Bil opted to bring his car out here) we could only bring one of our cats back to Boston with us. It was like choosing between our children -- a horrible decision to have to make. In the end, I brought Pepe back with me because he a bit more high-maintenance than Penny Lane (also, I secretly suspect that Bil's brother Tom is a bit attached to Penny).

So that's that. Here's the pic of the day: A fuschia Pepe (napping with Bil) on our Zebra-print blanket -- can you spot him?




That is all.

Frustrations -- ok, so what's new?

So, upon returning to Mass from my journey to visit family and friends in California, I was annoyed to learn that my front driver's side tire was flat. What a pain in the ass. ARGH. I got home and surveyed the damage: . So we (Bil and Ollie and Lauren and I) made a pilgrimage to Firestone tires in Boston. Could they fix my sad, flattened tire? Sadly, no, because...... some asshole punctured my tire with a knife!

Who does that? Was it Bil?
Or maybe Infamous Pepe the Cat?
Or perhaps Professor Plum with the knife in front of my house?

Stay tuned!

And so, $98.54 poorer, I'm home now with a brand new tire. Bastards.


That is all.

She shoots! She scores!
Ha


Ha


Ha


that is all

Weather Weirdness

So, I step outside, like you do, and I think, gosh, it's so warm out I don't even need a jacket. . .
And then I come inside to check my e-mail, and I see that the temp outside is a mere 57 degrees. 57! Didn't that used to be cold in CA? Like scarf weather cold? WTF New England?

That is all.

Ugh

Been sick as a cat lately. Horrible stomach virus or something. Man, it's awful. I wouldn't wish this one on just anybody. . . just on a couple of very special people in my life. I really don't want to get into the gory details, and trust me, you do not want to read them, but I will say that there was a point in which I just sat in the bathroom. All day. Yuck. Not fun.
The thing is, I didn't want to go into it all with the good people at the Gap, but they couldn't help but notice me running off a couple of times to the restroom, so I told them that I couldn't keep anything down, which seemed the kindest way to explain my way out of this digestive mess.

And now they all think that I'm pregnant. (Which, for those of you in doubt, I am most certainly not!)

Great.

That is all.

New Look...

A new look for a new year. Comments and critiques are welcome. Will write later about crazy California trip, complete with beautiful pictures from across the Golden State, but for now, my New Year's Resolutions:






That is all.