MetaChat is an informal place for MeFites to touch base and post, discuss and
chatter about topics that may not belong on MetaFilter. Questions? Check the FAQ. Please note: This is important.
09 January 2011
THIS IS A SHOUTING ABOUT THE WEATHER THREAD! THERE IS COLD WHITE STUFF FALLING FROM THE SKY AND I DON'T LIKE IT ONE BIT!
THERE IS COLD WET STUFF FALLING FROM THE SKY. STILL!!!!!! I'M SITTING WAITING TO GO INTO COURT FOR A WORK THING AND I AM ALL WET BECAUSE I HAD TO WALK HERE IN THE RAIN AND MY UMBRELLA HAS VANISHED! PLUS, I'M SUPPOSED TO BE ON HOLIDAY ANYWAY!
WE ARE HEADING OFF ON OUR ANNUAL HOLIDAY IN TWO DAYS AND DID I MENTION THAT IT'S STILL RAINING?
It snowed yesterday. We're right at freezing, with a bright blue sky, so it's sticking around. Supposed to get more of it starting Tuesday, but we've heard that before. METEOROLOGISTS LIE!
FOUR AND A HALF INCHES OF COLD WHITE STUFF STILL ON THE GROUND FROM FRIDAY AND ANYWHERE BETWEEN FOUR AND FOURTEEN INCHES SCHEDULED START FALLING TONIGHT LATE AND GOING ON THROUGH TUESDAY. ICE EVERYWHERE AND IT WAS WARMER ON THE FUCKING HUDSON BAY THIS MORNING THAN IT WAS IN ASHEVILLE NC WHERE IT WAS LIKE EIGHT. YES, EIGHT. EIGHT SHOULD NOT BE A TEMPERATURE.
ALSO MY PLAN TO NOT DRINK IN JANUARY HAS BEEN SIDESWIPED BY THE COMBINATION OF CONTINUOUS SNOWBOUNDNESS & THE ARRIVAL OF MY EXTREMELY GLAMOUROUS BRITISH STEP COUSIN WHO INTIMIDATES ME FOR A WEEK'S VISIT.
I am deeply, deeply grateful that it's starting to look like we in the Pacific NW will be spared the threatened Snowpocalypse: 2011. And my sympathies go out to all of you not equally spared.
(I feel no guilt--after spending 50+ years in Minnesota, I have well and truly PAID MY FUCKING WEATHER DUES. But I do have much sympathy, and empathy, and all that good stuff, and wish you all rapid melting.) (And also, MGL? You are SO. MUCH. COOLER. than any pretentious-bint of a British step-cousin could ever hope to be, and I raise a glass in your direction.)
LIKE MGL, I AM CURRENTLY IN ASHEVILLE, OR AT LEAST NEARBY.
LAST WEEK I WAS IN MONTREAL, WHICH WAS OF COURSE COLDER AND SNOWIER, BUT THERE AT LEAST I HAD GLOVES AND A SCARF. I LEFT THEM THERE BY MISTAKE, AND I AM NOW STUCK ON THE REMOTE ISOLATED WARREN WILSON CAMPUS WITHOUT THEM. (THE CAMPUS BOOKSTORE IS UNDERGOING RENOVATIONS AND WON'T SELL ME ANY.)
PLUS THE FORECAST SAYS WE'RE EXPECTING SOMETHING WITH THE OMINOUS NAME OF "WINTRY MIX." SNOW I CAN DEAL WITH. I ASSUME 'WINTRY MIX' IS WET ICY CRUD, FALLING SLUSH, FREEZING RAIN, AND REFROZEN SURFACES, ALL OF WHICH ARE FAR, FAR WORSE THAN CLEAN DRY SNOW.
I THINK THEY ARE GOING TO CLOSE SCHOOL AGAIN IN CENTRAL NC AND I HAVE SHIT TO DO AT WORK AND PRECIOUS LITTLE PTO. ALSO I HAVE TO MOVE NEXT WEEK, AND I JUST NEED SHIT TO WORK LIKE CLOCKWORK BETWEEN NOW AND THEN SO I DON'T LOSE MY MIND. ALSO MY BOSS CAN BE KIND OF A DICK ABOUT TAKING UNEXPECTED TIME OFF.
I have chosen to believe that Wintry Mix is a delicious snack, or perhaps a frosty and refreshing cocktail.
I'LL HAVE A WINTRY MIX PLEASE WITH A SHOT OF BAILEY'S IN IT. AND CINNAMON COOKIES TOO!
I SYMPATHIZE DEEPLY WITH ALL THE SNOW HATERS. IT WRECKS PLANS AND MAKES CARS SKID AND CLOSES SCHOOLS. NO WANT.
MGL, kat allison IS RIGHT, THAT BRITISH STEP COUSIN CAN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO YOU. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING, FIX ANYTHING, WRITE ANYTHING AND YOU DO IT ALL WITH STYLE.
I TOAST YOU AND EVERYONE WITH MY WINTRY MIX COCKTAIL.
WENT OUT FOR AN HOUR LONG RUN THIS AFTERNOON, IT WAS ONLY 22 DEGREES BUT BRIGHT AND SUNNY. THERE WERE ONLY ABOUT SIX OTHER RUNNERS OUT ON THE TRAIL BUT IT WAS A GREAT RUN. I LOVE WINTER.
thanks, y'all, you are too kind. My step cousin is actually very nice & I like her a lot; she's just skinny & beautiful & multilingual & kinda rich & has that accent & is enough older than me that when I was a gawky teenager she was a fabulously cool drama college student. Anyway she gave me a facial today - I have never had a facial before! Now my skin feels all tingly and strange like somebody else's skin. Somebody elegant.
also, tangerine, you are in Black Mountain? We should have a meetup if the STUPID WINTER SNOW MIX OF EVIL EVER STOPS.
It looks like we're in for SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011 here in BC. They're predicting up to 75cm/30in of snow between Tuesday night and Saturday. I'm so glad the mister's manager is very flexible when it comes to driving or not in bad weather.
THIS WAS MY GREETING WHEN I GOT BACK FROM THE UNITED STATES TO MY HOME IN MORIOKA. ≡ Click to see image ≡
THERE WAS ALL THIS FROZEN WHITE STUFF ON MY CAR AND I SUSPECT IT FELL FROM THE SKY AND I GUESS LONG STORY SHORT THE BOY AND I HAD TO DIG IT OUT LIKE RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO GET FOOD FOR US AND KEROSINE FOR THE HEATER, WHICH IS LIKE ITS FOOD.
≡ Click to see image ≡
And here is my house this morning. Seven and a quarter inches so far and it's still coming down like it's never going to stop. Entire city is shut down.
Eh, broken link. Not important. Important = snow squall out of nowhere leads to a 52 car pile up on I-95, preventing me from attending my own mother's memorial freaking service.
SENYAR THAT IS EASY FOR YOU TO SAY BECAUSE YOU HAVE A BRITISH ACCENT OF AWESOMENESS! HEE! I DO NOT KNOW WHY IT IS THAT THE BRITISH ACCENT IS SIMPLY THE COOLEST SOUNDING THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD BUT IT IS TRULY THE ONE PART OF THE EMPIRE ON WHICH THE SUN HAS NOT EVER SET. YESTERDAY DAUGHTER & I TOOK STEP COUSIN SHOPPING AND FELT ALL COOL AS OTHER SHOPPERS WERE ALL, LIKE, OOOH, THEY ARE WITH SOMEBODY WITH A BRITISH ACCENT, WHOA.
DEAR POST OFFICE: I KNOW I SHOULD BE GLAD THAT PHYSICAL OBJECTS MANAGE TO GET FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER AT ALL, BUT YOU SEEM INTENT ON MAKING IT UN-POSSIBLE. EVEN NOW, WHEN I SOUGHT TO AVOID THE EIGHT-VISIT FOOFERAW THAT TOOK PLACE THE LAST TIME I TRIED TO MAIL SOMETHING OF VALUE (and seriously, if you are so set on us using the special paper tape and the special unblemished boxes, maybe you should sell them your own goddamned self) BY GOING TO THE NICE NEIGHBORHOOD PHARMACY WITH THE FRIENDLY MAILING GEEK, WHOM I LOVE, HE INFORMS ME THAT ONE CANNOT PURCHASE INSURANCE AT THEIR STORE.
NO WONDER THEY NEED A DAMN GENERAL IN CHARGE OF THE POST OFFICE. EVEN IF IT IS JUST A NAME.
oops, this is just shouting abut the weather. okay. well, maybe I wouldn't be so cranky about the mail if my face and throat didn't feel like cardboard thanks to the ridiculous dryness.
Thanks mgl and deborah. To clarify, this happened on the 9th, the day of the original post. I am just crawling out of foetal today. There will be an ashes thing this summer, I guess I can take the phone calls till then. A friend had a good insight on the Mom calling me dreams - why does that have to be a bad thing? So we'll see.
But yeah EFF YOU WINTER EFF YOU HARD AND MEAN.
We're getting more tomorrow, but really, last winter so far was more crazy precipitation-wise.
Also, mgl: I would totally be up for a meetup but first I have to get through this MFA residency which is pretty relentless through Wednesday night and after that I'll be spending a couple of days with an extremely nice aunt and cousin who would probably want to be included in any meetup plans, and then I'm flying out on Saturday assuming planes are normal then, so between all that and the SNOW/WINTRY MIX who knows.
I will, however, be out this way every six months for the next couple of years, so if we can't make this one work, there will be another trip in just a bit.
((hugs)) to those experiencing bad times. It's sunny and above freezing here, so nothing to shout about.
MGL, I TOO HAVE A BRITISH ACCENT OF AWESOMENESS BUT AM TOTALLY NOT GLAMOROUS. I WILL COME AND STAY WITH YOU AND GO SHOPPING WITH YOU IF IT WILL HELP A) YOUR SELF-ESTEEM AND B) YOUR STANDING AMONG THE BRITISH-ACCENT-ADMIRERS OF NORTH CAROLINA!
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
