So what'll we have today?

Well, let's start with a picture of snow, since that's what's out there. Oh, and the rain gauge isn't really of too much use at the moment. Don't you think?

What else? Quick neck complaint, I guess. Hey, neck? Get yourself straightened out, already. I'm getting sick of the headaches.

And quick weather complaint, because you know I just have to: I hate winter. Still, yes. Apparently things are supposed to start warming up tomorrow (I refuse to believe that until it actually happens, though. Call it my version of knocking wood) which may even lead me to go back to my own place... erm, yeah. I'm not a big fan of travelling -- especially alone -- when the weather makes it dangerous for me to be outside for any length of time, so my father's had a roommate these past couple of days. Um, anyway. I still hate winter, is what I'm saying.

And next? Hmmm. I don't really have much today, I have to admit. I could touch quickly on my dislike for Anne Geddes' photography, but it would be really quickly because the only reason it's come up at all is that I have my iGoogle theme set to random and it must have been Anne Geddes turn to have the spotlight today. Frankly, I don't see the appeal of babies dressed up as vegetables or flowers or whatever, but obviously a lot of people do so I'll just leave it to them and wait for tomorrow's random theme to take over. It's no biggie either way.

Anything else?

Not really.

And besides, my face kind of hurts from all the sneezing. Sneezing, you say? Yeah. No idea why, but there's sure been a lot of it this morning. Maybe it's the cats or something, I don't know.

And that's really no way to end a post, is it? Well, let's check the video vault and see what I can come up with...

Ok, Playing For Change came up somewhere else this morning, so that's a good enough excuse to link to one of my favourite pieces of theirs. I've probably linked to it before, but you know what? I don't care. It's good. Enjoy it.






Aaand... I was going to end there, but after that I need a bit more Keb' Mo'. Gotta love it.

Snit roundup

Ok, to sum up what I could be whinging about at this very moment so we don't have to do this the long-winded way: my neck still hurts, I need to sleep more, I hate winter (although it doesn't seem to be bothering the deer much, as evidenced by the tracks in the yard), and I'd like to thank CTV for making me not give a flying rat's bum about the Vancouver Olympics.

Oh, wait. Let's elaborate on that last one for a bit.

I'm not saying I would have been full of Olympic fever anyway, to start with. The winter Olympics don't thrill me for the most part because I'm not really into any winter sports. Well, all right, I'll watch hockey. And things like luge and skeleton because I think those people are completely nuts. And, ok, maybe I'll watch a bit of speed skating as well. But that's about it for me and sports that involve cold. So you can imagine that those few things in themselves weren't exactly going to make me wait with fish breath (erm... baited, that would be) for the start of a whole big winter sports to-do.

Now let's add in the CTV factor.

CTV, I know that you paid big money for the rights to broadcast the games. I also understand that you need to let people know that you're Canada's home for the Winter Olympics (or whatever). However, that doesn't mean that it was a great move to beat it into our heads for the last two years that THIS IS WHERE WE'LL FIND THE OLYMPICS. All those exhortations to believe -- over and over and over again -- don't make someone like me want to cheer on our athletes. It makes someone like me (and I can't be the only one) want to tell you where to stuff it.

And now that the games are nearly here things haven't gotten much better. Over-coverage of the world's longest and most pointless torch relay? Lovely for those involved, I suppose, but not exactly getting me all worked up. And I won't even tell you where to stick those bloody red mittens. I know, I know, it's for a good cause. But it's completely annoying to see the commercials. And see the commercials. And see the commercials.

And veering away from CTV-brand overexposure for a moment: whose bright idea do you suppose it was to have mascots for a Canada-hosted Olympics that look so... I dunno... anime? Makes about as much sense as choosing the well-known Vancouver inukshuk as your games symbol. I mean, I like inukshuks. Really I do. But they have absolutely nothing to do with Vancouver.

I dunno. I'd like to be excited about all of this. I would. But at this point my brain is so sick of hearing about it that I've already hit just get it over with. And I don't even live in Vancouver. I can ignore the whole thing if I choose to. How big do you suppose the dent in my forehead would be by now if I was in the thick of the annoyance and inconvenience?




Erm, yeah. Good on the patriotism, I guess, Dee. Um... go team?

I refuse to use that stupid "official" cheer. What is it, something like Eh! O! Canada Go!, right? Good lord. If they wanted it to sound fake stereotypical Canadian they should have just used Go, eh. That would have done it.







And just in the interest of full disclosure because there are a few of you out there who know my preferences and may call me on them after this needless rant, I'll say YES. Yes, ok. I may just have increased my snititude ever so slightly seeing as the Winter Olympics give me no opportunity to watch the Men's Eight win more medals...

And you wonder about my mood?

For someone who loathes the cold as much as I do, this does not count as a winter wonderland. Just saying.

Oh, and it was -28C outside yesterday when I stepped outside (BRIEFLY!!!) to take this picture. And a few others. Yeah, we'll have a few days on the blog without leftover sunflower photos now.

Incidentally, it's also -28C out there right now. Our high today is supposed to be -25C. Um... yay?

Anyway. I'm not sure what I have to blather about today, since I just finished spending my brain on drawing a turtle. It's the first time I've drawn a turtle, actually. It went ok, I guess. For a turtle doodle done at the computer using someone else's photo that I wish could have been a little clearer. And for not really knowing how to draw a turtle.

But there you go, then.

Or something.

In other news, as usual this time of year Lumpy Penny has decided that she is a gift to the household and therefore deserves to occupy the Christmas tree skirt. Our tree isn't decorated yet (maybe I'll aim for that this afternoon), but that doesn't stop the cat from figuring that it's hers.

She's doing better than I am with the whole Christmas thing, I suppose. A combination of the weather, putting my neck out, and my general inability to get my act together has meant that I've done exactly no Christmas shopping. I know what at least one person is getting (late. At this point I'm aiming for Ukrainian Christmas, which I figure is valid since my grandfather was Ukrainian. Well, Ukrainian Canadian), but I have no idea for my father. I warned him that he might be getting a gift card -- yeah, I'm one of those people who sees absolutely nothing wrong with buying gift certificates rather than useless and completely inappropriate gifts -- and he seemed pretty all right with that.

Maybe that's what'll happen, then.

I don't know.

And anyway, nothing at all is likely to happen until it warms up about twenty degrees.





Sigh.

I really don't like winter, did I mention?

How's the snit going, Dee?

Oh, pretty well. I'm getting lots of practice, at any rate.

You'll notice that I ran out of pointless photos of frosty things. I could go out and take pointless photos of snowy things today, I guess, except that we currently have a severe windchill warning...

I hate winter.

But then you already know that.

And how's everything else? Well, the neck's a little better. I'll have a heckuva headache tonight from gravity compressing things again, but at the moment I can turn my head decently. That's better than having things worse. Oh, and I've had the Motown on this morning, so at least there's been a certain amount of singing along. Always a good thing for my general well-being, even if I've had to take it easy on the chairdancing this time around.

See? I'm trying to be in a better mood. I'm not quite there, but I'm working on it.

This helped, too.

I need to change laundry loads now. But I was out of stuff anyway, so it's convenient timing.



Later, then.

Ok, so...

Well, I managed a whole one day in a row before something else happened to add to the general suckage of my week.

I put my neck out yesterday.

Yay me.

Today? Still off-kilter, but I managed to move enough to make it down the highway to my father's place.

Slowly.

The roads are pretty much crap at the moment. But if I'd waited a day for the neck to sort itself out (which may or may not happen anyway) the roads would still be crap and I'd have the added pleasure of minus godawful temperatures to go along.

None of this is making me particularly happy. Does it show?

I'll... try to be a bit more positive tomorrow. Or something.

Yeah, yeah, I know

Blog much lately, Dee?

Not my fault.

Honestly.

You see, we had a bit of a storm a few days ago (and today's pointless photo was taken a couple of weekends ago. If I took it now it would have that polar-bear-in-a-snowstorm quality everybody's looking for in a pointless photo). Storms happen. And, unfortunately, when storms happen around here things usually get VERY cold for a while afterward.

Afterward can, on occasion, be a couple of weeks. Not this time, I hope, but it's been known to happen.

Anyway, when it gets cold it's extremely difficult for me to go anywhere because it's extremely painful for me to be outside long enough to clear off/warm up the car. And why is that? Oh, we've talked about it before. Let's just say that it's really stupid to be allergic to the cold when you live in, say, CANADA. At any rate, storm + cold = I stay housebound for a while.

I'm out today, but just barely.

The weather's a bit warmer (as in, now it's only TEN degrees below normal daytime high), but I got a nasty surprise when I went down to the car. It seems that the apartment manager, who in the way too many years I've been living there has gained a reputation for not clearing the snow in the parking lot all winter long and then letting us put up with wading in the meltwater all spring, has had a change of heart. Now, apparently, we get the parking lot cleared right away. WHILE THE CARS ARE STILL IN IT.

Did I mention the storm? There was a bit of snow.

Most of it, apparently, was needed to box in my car.

Should I say here that, since I live in a flipping apartment, I don't actually own a snow shovel?






Yeah. Picture the scene yourselves. I really don't want to type it all out.

Aaanyway. I should get back to work, since I haven't been here for a couple of days.





And will I be back to be pointless tomorrow?









I guess.










Maybe.

Really quick pointless photo of the day:

Yeah, I know I haven't been around all week.

I've got work to do now, though.

Later, then.