The Majestic Snow

Today was busy as hell. I was double timed with meetings/training until 2 and then was sideswiped by a million other tasks all at once. I was a tad bit tiffed by it all. Being busy made the day fly by, though. I had a visitor, which made it great, but the day was none-the-less hectic.
Add to that...
There's been nothing but depressing crap in the news for God knows how long about the economy, the Middle East, and effing U.S. politics and it all came to a head.
I might have slammed my fists down a couple times, too.
And then...it happens...it starts to snow.
What's funny is that one person came in and said, "Hey, it's snowing." And then another, and another, and then everyone was talking about it, just like how the snow starts. You see that one flake and then a couple more and then it's snowing full force.
At first I could not go out to look because I was in the middle of something and bitching. Someone even called me out on not being enthusiastic enough. But the stress overwhelmed me and I had to put down my stack of papers and go to gaze.
I flew up the few steps to the large glass paneled doors to see the swirling flakes in panoramic view.
There was a coworker there just watching and smiling. I turned to her and just like the others said, "It's snowing," and she replied, "Yeah. It is, isn't it?"
Innocently, like two children, taking time to just enjoy the moment. I guess that's what everyone was doing and reminding each other to go do when they say, "It's snowing."
So taking a moment like I did today just made me start over. I had to forget it all and stare at something that seems so magical...like that first snow to remember what simple things joy in life can be derived from.
There is a child in me and there is a child in us all, still. I'm just glad that someone was able to remind to acknowledge that today.

Picklesickle and other Wordplay

Old man winter showed his face today an blew an angry, icy wind that instilled fear in me.
Fear, I say.
Fear of the cold, fear of jacking up my heat, fear of jacking up my heat which in-turn jacks my bank statement.
Forget that you get to wear awesome coats and scarves and boots with the furrrrr...it's cold!
This will now be my morning: wake up to NPR and gently roll back the covers to feel my body warmth dissipate immediately.
What comes next?
Debate hitting snooze; but wait...that would mean getting out of bed for what, 8 more minutes of sleep?
NO!
I creep that first foot out onto the hardwood that feels as though it has frozen over with a sheet of ice. I hear Pickles scratching around in his cage, luckily he didn't from becoming a Picklesickle during the night.
Now my shower will take even longer to heat up while my nipples shrivel to what looked like freckles. And I just know when I step out of the shower they will again shrivel.
It's now a race to get dressed to fend off the jet of cold air rushing through my decrepit windows. don't feel so sorry for me; I'm having some replaced.
That brings me to efficiency, my topic for Third Tuesday tonight:
How energy efficient can one be? You get the triple-paned windows, over insulated abode, and energy star appliances, but then what?
What about when our gas runs out?
What about when your geothermal power is not enough to warm us all?
I want to save money, but I also want to know that a hundred years from now people that inhabit the planet will be able to bitch about their energy bills, too.
Why are we not planning ahead, ahead?
Aren't we acutely aware that one day the oil well will run dry?
Don't we realize that there is only so much coal to be scraped from the Earth?
Yes, these are questions that I wonder, even as I wish I had an electric hand warmer to warm my icy hands as I take hold of a warm wiener to peepee.
But what can I do? This is just one of so many mornings that will go on until old man winter goes back up north to vacation on the poles.

Vanity, just plain vanity

While I prepared for work this morning, I looked in the mirr...no, I gazed in the mirror and was horrified by what my hair was doing, or more importantly, not doing.
It was mopped out.
It looked like a raccoon had crawled on top of my head and died sometime during the night. It was flat on top and poofed on the sides.
It was embarrassing as hell....and this was after I fixed it.
Luckily, I had an appointment with my stylist. I showed up and she gave me bug eyes. And the bug eyes were not from my hair, but because I was a day early.
Instead of waiting a day, I decided to wait through her actual appointment until she could cut my hair. I had time, so I perused the fashion mags stacked between the chairs. I found a do that I thought might be nice to do. As I looked at the picture I could see myself in it. And why not?
I'm in shape, not terribly disfigured, and will soon have that same haircut.
What it would feel like to have a stylist, designer clothes, and tons of money for looking the best I can? I know the looks to give: serious eyes, stern brow, and jaw clinched tight for maximum square jaw line. Then there's the I'm so comfortable I laugh so that you can see my crow's feet smile with the head tilted back ever-so-slightly. Oh, and don't forget the "I can't remember if I shaved today or not," scruffy look. See, I know how to pose, now where's my mineral water?
"Casey, we're ready," she says and I fall back to Earth from my grandiosity.
It's just a do in a magazine, but damn I worked it for a couple of seconds.
Hopefully s o m e o n e will like it. Anything's better than dead, half-flat raccoon.

Embracing the Time and Nation

It's Thursday, two days after the election, and you could say I'm lazy for not writing about it until today. I do things on MY time. This revelation came to my dad last weekend. "Casey," he says "Oh, he'll get it done...it might be next week or next month, but he'll get it done. He does things at his own pace."
So, I'm writing about the election at my own pace.
Besides, for the past 6 months all we've heard about is the election, so who minds waiting a couple of days for my take on it all?
I'm a Democrat, but I agree with some Republican ideals. I have to say that as far as a feeling that I get about which is the right choice, being Democratic feels right.
When I was standing behind the cardboard partition voting I came to the presidential boxes and couldn't resist this ear-to-ear smile that came over me as I voted for Obama. It was a combination of feeling confident about my choice, making history, and rebelling against my parents(which seems a little funny at age 27, but I did anyway.)
Flash forward to that night when I'm watching the results flood in on the multiple channels covering it. The result seems clear; Obama will be our 44th president. Jenny changes the channel so we can watch The Office on TBS. At a commercial break she turns back to the news and it's done. Obama takes the presidency with a resounding victory. "My God. It happened so fast," I remember saying.
We scan the channels to see the various reactions of CNN, Fox News, etc.
We all just kind of looked at each other like, "it's happened, this is real, history was made right in front of us."
A little later when I heard McCain's concession speech I almost choked up, as did he. I'm sure McCain would have been a great president, but it wasn't the right time, and it was probably his last chance. I admired his speech greatly.
Then came Obama with his acceptance speech. I was linked, as probably every other voter watching, with him at that moment. Our nation, starting over and making history at the same time. The unity that I felt was immense. I look forward to the future, a future united, a future that I hope will become a past that we are damn proud to say WE were a part of, TOGETHER.