I have a very busy week this week.  Whereas we normally have 2 big meetings (those video-teleconferences I’ve mentioned) a month, one week apart, this month we have 2 big meetings this week and one next week.  So, since the Federal government was closed yesterday, I decided I’d go into work early this morning. (Which meant I got up before the alarm and didn’t listen to the news.)  And because I was going to be briefing the Big Boss, I “dressed up”  (meaning I didn’t wear jeans).  And because I was so tired of putting my snow boots on and taking them off, I wore regular shoes.

Big.  Mistake!

There was a lot of ice by my car, and the roads were horrible.  Horrible! By the time I got to work (and I don’t have that far to drive), my stomach was in knots and I had chest pains.  I was really worried.  And the walk from my car to the building was just as crappy, if not worse.  (Because I am not a Big Wig, I don’t rate a reserved parking space—which I believe I have bitched [or whined] about here before—and had to walk through the slush and snow.  In my nice shoes.)

It was a ghost town.   The 24×7 folks were there, and a few people who work hourly, but no one else.  Not even the Big Boss.  Or the Little Boss, for that matter.  I turned on my computer and what’s the first e-mail I see?  The Government is closed today.  Again!  Well, having been on the roads, I can truly say that was the right call.  So, I directed my work phone to home (just in case anyone call calls about the big meeting planned for tomorrow) and came home.

And it’s now clouding over, getting ready to snow.  A-freaking-gain!

I have tomorrow off.  Again!  Hee!  After the blizzard of ‘09 (also on a Saturday), the Federal Government was closed on Monday.  I just tried to check the OPM website (Office of Personnel Management, who makes the decision for the Feds) to see what the status was, and the server keeps timing out.  I’m sure it’s because everyone else is trying to check it, too.

So if I can’t get to the server, how do I know?   I checked the local “news, weather, and traffic” radio station and they show all the closings and delays.  I think there are two reasons for the closure.  One is that Metro’s (DC’s “subway” system) above ground tracks are still closed.   (“Above ground rails” is why “subway” is in quotes.)  The other is many roads are still in poor shape.  So it’s better for us to stay off the streets until they can get everything treated.

Total accumulation was over 2 feet.  And that’s about how much was on the car.  (Not as much drifting this time.)  But apparently the record is something like 28″, so we didn’t break it.

I turned on Puppy Bowl VI this afternoon and caught the “Kitty Halftime Show.”  It was a bunch of kittens playing with kitten toys.  With strobe lights.  I recognized a few of the toys, because I have them.  They’ve really expanded the Puppy Bowl.  They’ve had the waterbowl cam for a couple years.  Now they have the Twizzler blimp, manned by a bunch of hamsters.  cheerleader rabbits, spectator dogs, and a (human) referee.  In fact, one puppy was penalized for tail biting, and another was thrown out for unnecessary roughness.  Gosh, I wish I worked for the Animal Planet channel.

The one saving factor of the Great Snowfall of ‘09 I thought, was that we’d most likely be done with Big Snow this winter.  Wrong! So now we’re expecting even more snow than we got in December.  It’s the Great Snowstorm of… Ten?  One-oh?

The neighbors are having a little storm party tonight.  And because I live in a condo with a covered stairwell, I don’t even have to put on my snow boots to go!  I was told there will be libations.  Woohoo!

I hear the grocery stores were busy last night and today—even at 6:00 in the morning.  Fortunately, I went to the grocery store on Tuesday evening to pick up some milk (already had enough bread and toilet paper), and a few other things—most importantly, cat treats.  (Life would be hell if I didn’t have them the next few days.)   Apparently one of the big items this time around is cheese.  Some woman on the radio said there was no cheese anywhere.  She asked, indignantly, “Who needs that much cheese?”  Well, it is Super Bowl weekend, so I imagine cheese and chips and wings and whatnot were on a lot of peoples’ lists.

Me?  I already have enough cheese.  I stocked up on ice cream. 

I haven’t watched American Idol since the first season.  (Same with Survivor.)  Not sure why I don’t care for AI, because I love singing.

This Tuesday, Susan Boyle and Adam Lambert were on Oprah this Tuesday.  As soon as I heard about it, I set my DVR.

I know Susan Boyle gets flak from some, saying her voice is ok but not great, and that her fame comes from the fact that she’s middle-aged and (was) frumpy.  I don’t agree.  It’s not because I too am middle-aged and frumpy.  It’s because I think her voice is incredibly beautiful.  Her appearance on Oprah only reinforced my opinion.  Her voice is rich and full and expressive.  It’s just lovely.

She does seem a hard person to interview.  She didn’t open too much about her reaction to not winning Britain’s Got Talent.  I was hoping she’d say something like Piers Morgan said after the finale—that coming in second was probably the best thing for her, especially since she’d been under such enormous pressure.

I was curious to see & hear Adam Lambert.  I’d heard about him during his time on American Idol, but never tuned in.  I have to say, I was massively impressed.  And that was before he sang even one note.  I loved his maturity.  He hadn’t been satisfied with where he was in his life, so he looked for guidance and decided to make a change, which led to AI.    He talked about singers taking Simon Cowell’s criticism personally, but said he appreciated it because it made him a better singer.  (I don’t know if Cowell ever criticized him, though.)

He has a wonderful energy.  He was excited about surprising a couple of his fans, a mother and daughter.  They were singing one of his songs and he came up behind them singing the next line.  Aww.  He talked about his new life, how it’s so much more than he ever hoped for; how he’s grateful for every day, because you never know when it’s  going to end.

Then he sang.  (Sorry, I  know its title.)  It started as a ballad, but as soon as he went into the rock mode, the audience jumped up, danced and sang with him.  Yes, even Oprah.    I thought, how infectious his happiness and energy is.  Oprah asked him what he feels on stage.  He said it’s an adrenaline rush.  But honestly, to me, it’s like he’s reached Nirvana.  He just made me smile.

All while wearing serioius eye-shadow, blush, and lipstick.  (Damn, he’d make a pretty girl.  His blue eyes are just mesmerizing.)  I may have to buy his album.  ♥

I did it again.  I signed up for January’s NaBloPoMo.  The only thing is, I signed up SciFi Chick/s, not Stream of Conscience.  Maybe I should have waited until February, since I’d only have to do 28 consecutive posts instead of 31.  Well, no guts, no glory.

In other year end news, I’m making several changes in my life.  New email address (don’t worry, the old one/s will forward), new (cell) phone number, new posting capabilities (I think, I haven’t tested them out yet).  Seems like the only thing that hasn’t changed are my bad habits.  And right now, I don’t have any New Year’s resolutions.  Maybe I’ll recycle the 3 I had for December.

I’d actually made a little progress with the December goals.  And then, you know, the holidays came.  I was bound and determined to get all my Christmas presents mailed in time this year, and it was sort of overwhelming for me.  But, I got it done!  Woohoo!

By the way, the cats are quite pleased with their presents.  Gigi adores her new blankie.  She sleeps on constantly—when she isn’t in my lap & pestering me when I’m on the computer, as she is now.  I think the (fake) sheepskin feels good on her old bones.

Gigi and her new blankie

Isn’t she adorable?  Why yes, I do believe she is. 

I guess it’s too late to delete the cursing & swearing post, isn’t it?  Oh, the saga of the Subaru.  It wasn’t the battery, so I had to have it towed to the dealership.  There, I spilled a full cup of hot coffee, not only making a mess, but burning my had in the process.  Then I learned I had flooded the engine. Now, I know all about preventing an engine from flooding, so I was conscious not to pump the gas pedal too much.  But I guess it was an automatic reaction when the car didn’t start right away.  Used to be you didn’t keep the ignition in “start” too long for fear of draining the battery.   But these new fangled cars work so differently from those of the olden days, you have to throw out all the old driving lore of yore.

Once I was up and running then went to the grocery store.  They didn’t have any pecan pie (not even frozen!) and were out of the orange rolls I like to have Christmas morning.  How dare they interfere with my Christmas tradition!  It put me in a bah humbug frame of mind.  But I stopped again last night after work, and they had the rolls.  I still couldn’t find any pecan pie, so I asked the bakery.  My timing was excellent.  They had just brought a whole bunch of boxes in.   It didn’t even have the price on it yet. 

This morning I was feeling kind of sad that I didn’t get anything for the cats.  Since we had a short work day today, I stopped at the pet store on the way home.  The store is in the shopping center that has the worst traffic pattern even in good weather.  So imagine the horror with snow piles heaped all over!

I hear Iowa’s getting hammered with a big storm right now.  The radio said they might get record breaking snows.  Record breaking snow for DC is about 2 feet;  I can’t imagine what it is for Iowa.  So I’ll send good thoughts to all my Iowa friends for a safe and sound and warm Christmas.

The great snow storm of oh-nine has come and gone.  The biggest snowstorm in the history of the region left us with 16½” of snow at Reagan National Airport (only a couple miles from me),  6′ piles of snow left by the plows, beautiful 4′ drifts, and lots of tired, aching muscles.  Oh, and a Federal government that’s closed tomorrow.  Snow day!  Wheeee!

I went to bed last night absolutely dreading today.  I decided I’d go out 3 times and work for 15 minutes each.  When I went out the first time, about 9:30, my neighbor was out cleaning off his car.  (Well, not his, but his wife/co-habitant’s.)  Turns out he’s an old pro.  He’s from Connecticut and went to college in upstate New York.  And he’s young.  And male (better upper-body strength, ya know).  God bless him, he helped me clean off my car and shovel me out.  Then he helped my other neighbor.  She’s baking him cookies.  Perhaps I’ll bake a pie for him.  Anyone got a better idea of something to do for him?

So, here’s the pre-shovel wonderland.

We’re supposed to get over 10″ (and more like 15-20″) of snow tomorrow.  In a place where 4″ is a blizzard!  The  weatherman says it’s going to be the biggest storm we’ve seen in years.  The governor of Virginia has already declared a state of emergency—and not one flake has fallen!

I was supposed to get my hair cut in the morning and had another appointment in the afternoon about 30 miles away.  I just called the salon and they said my hairdresser is planning on coming in tomorrow.  But she lives fairly far out in the area that’s supposed to get the most snow.  I think once she gets up and sees the snow, she’ll reconsider.  Of course, if she doesn’t work, she doesn’t get paid.  Worse, this area is overflowing with Type-A types who’ll probably be pissed if she doesn’t come in.  But geez, her husband had a heart transplant a few years ago.  I think it’s better for her to be safe.

Although I didn’t really need anything from the grocery store, I stopped by to get some cheese I’ve become very fond of.  And since I was thinking about baking (pumpkin pies) this weekend, I picked up some eggs and condensed milk.  The store was crraazzzyy!  One youngish guy came by with his cart full of  beer.  (Hee!)  Later, when he was picking up some kitty litter (double hee!), I noticed he had some sodas, too.  He probably won’t get a chance to get to the store before Sunday football, so I figured he was getting ready for the game.  [Oh, I just realized he was probably getting the litter for his car.  He didn't really look like a cat person.]

As I passed the gas station, there was a line there, too.  I’m so happy I filled my tank earlier this week!

And I am so freakin’ double uber-happy I got all my Christmas presents out last night!

What?!?  No Supernatural tonight?!?!  I don’t care if it is a rerun, it’s on my death-toll watch schedule, and there’s already not enough weeks to rerun everything.  Well, I’ll show them!  I’ll just watch the copy that’s on my DVR.  So there, Vampire Diaries! :þ

I spent some time at the post office on my way home tonight.  Actually, it wasn’t too bad.  But when I got to the very front of the line, some asshole starts nervously running around in front of the counter.  I thought maybe he’d forgotten his credit card or something, but nope, he was looking for a pen.   One of the clerks gave him one.  Then, when I get to the counter, he does his routine again.  The clerk next to me (the one who gave him the pen) tells him he has to pay for it.  (I don’t know what “it” was, nor do I care.)  He said “Do I have to get in line?”  The clerk said no and let him pay for whatever.  My clerk was pissed!  He commented on all the people waiting in line.  And then he rolled his eyes.  I love him!

I have one present left to mail.  My schedule had me going to UPS tomorrow.  (Yes, my life is one schedule after another, but it seems to be working so far.)  But it’s still early enough, so I’m going to do it tonight.  Unlike my previous packages, this one is already packed and boxed.  It should be a breeze.  If I can find a parking spot.  And then I will reward myself by going to Baja Fresh and getting a shrimp burrito.  And maybe some chips.  I already have dessert; leftovers from our office Christmas party.  Yummm!

Ah yesterday.  I found the coffee mess at work.  And the candy dish!  What more could I ask for?

How about a job where I don’t have to work shifts?  Nah, that’d be too much to ask for.  Especially from an organization that doesn’t give a shit about me.

I saw the gal I’m going to be working for today.  (I remember when I was her teacher.  *sigh*  I don’t begrudge her, she’s good.  But I feel a little blue for me.)  She said she’s been spending all her time on the organization chart.  She pulled it out for me and said I was slated to be a “battle captain,” which means a shift worker.  Granted, it’s the boss of the shift workers, but it’s still fucking shift work.  I told her I can’t do shift work because of my age and heart condition.  She said I’d have to take that up with P.G.  (I wouldn’t mind giving his name, but I’ll try to be “nice” about this.)  I told her I already had.  I then gave her a knowing look and she understood.

When I told P.G. about my concerns being a battle captain, he “understood” and said it wasn’t a “good fit,” mainly because of my seniority.  But I’ve worked with this guy before and I know he’s a fucking snake in the grass and I can’t believe a goddamn word he says.  Obviously, this just proves it.

Actually, I’m a lot more ok than my bitching and cursing indicate, mainly because 1) I sort of expected it, and 2) I have options.  Not great options, but at least something.

And it’s Supernatural night.  And even though it’s a rerun, it’s a great episode, even if it’s a little short on Jared Padalecki.  (Ha! “Short” and “Jared Padalecki” used in the same sentence!  That’s gotta be a first.    Sometimes I amuse myself greatly.)