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February 28, 2006
Thermometer Roller-coaster Ride
There's a bit more snow on the ground... I just walked back in it. Roughly two inches presently (and it's 12:10 a.m. on the 28th). Just as the grumbling about winter's instability was shrinking to a pebble, a boulder comes outta nowhere.
Honestly, I was just talking with someone yesterday about how the snow wasn't sticking. How Mother Nature must be a binge drinker because she has a 60 degree day, wakes up the next morning and says, [insert surfer-like voice here] "Dude, it was 60 yesterday? Wooaah, that ain't right. Whoops! My bad, haha, woah." And then we get some gusty winds, flakes that make me think Mother Nature has dry scalp problems, and a thermometer roller-coaster ride.
(That phrase, which I just now typed as the title, reminds me of that song "Hawaiian Roller-coaster Ride," that was popularized with the Disney movie "Lilo and Stitch," which I have never seen... but saw advertised countless times on the Disney channel...)
Regardless, there are some behaviors that accompany snow which never cease to amaze me.
1) Disorderly parking in large parking lots (i.e. SHU's coveted A-Lot)
There is no way to tell where the lines are, and if you've got an SUV and you're parking next to a Pinto you can't tell if that shrimpy car is up to the line or not, if it's crooked, or if it's even IN a space. No, you guess where you should park. And the result is a parking lot that resembles blind insects learning synchronized swimming; they jump in without any idea of where they are and, though it looks like they tried to form some kind of order, they just gave up and now lay motionless as other blind insects illustrate their skills in the sport. Ultimate parking... that should be a game at the next winter olympics.
2) Increase in the number of people outdoors
This one is just incredible. After weeks or days since the last "warm" and unseasonable day, the grumblers see the flaky white joy accumulating and, from their side of the windowpane, it's a terrific day/night for [insert name of hokey jokey game that is only cool if you're über intense about it]. Like hide-and-go-seek. I passed about seven people on my way through the snow this evening--dressed entirely in black (maybe they hadn't noticed the snow or the stark contrast their apparel made against it?)--running after one another, ducking from snowballs and chasing other from hiding places. I can only assume that they had been cooped up too long and that cabin fever might lead to a real fever if they don't put mittens on.
3) Sudden delays. In traffic, thought, and negative emotion regarding the weather
After moaning about it, once the snow gets to the ground, its an inevitability that we'll deal with it. Shovel it, salt it, plow it, throw it, and track it in on our shoes. The snow will follow us throughout our days (until Mother Nature fills up another stein and forgets the season again). It will affect some of us more than others--delays in traffic, schools, and other such gatherings of community will pop up like daisies in springtime. But those of us living on campus will still go to class. Regardless... Though, that doesn't totally leave out any other kind of ... delay. Everything seems to slow when there's winter presence in our lives. Colder, slower, more difficult? more trying. It's all a process, and the steps are accentuated by the effort that it takes to muster effort to accomplish anything. Best of all, though (especially for folks like me who enjoy some snow now and again), is the delay in the complaints about the lily white afghan. Instead, because of the inevitability (?) people are less inclined to moan about it and more likely to merely relay concern about how long it took you to get here this morning? there were how many accidents on that road? who forgot to salt the sidewalk? oh, it wasn't those neighbors that took out the mailbox with their plow? There are more important things to focus on now that the snow has arrived...
As much as this ridiculous weather has stressed us all, I guess I can say that I'm glad to see that hope floats once again and winter, though it's the end of February, hasn't divorced Mother Nature. Maybe they just had a tiff and need a little time to work things out.
Till then, hold on to that safety bar and strap in for that thermometer roller-coaster ride...
Posted by KarissaKilgore at February 28, 2006 12:10 AM
Comments
As much as I miss home and my friends sometimes, I'm kind of glad I'm not there right now. If I was there I'd probably be sick right now. The weather is quite the opposite here. It's been so hot here lately, it's crazy. I hope you are staying well though, I know you said you were sick there for awhile. :)
Posted by: Sue at March 1, 2006 2:02 AM