Skis

So for my wife's birthday, she wanted to go cross country skiing. She did it once in high school, and I've never even so much as held a pair of skiis.

It was awkward at first, and I didn't realize how much I'd be using my arms. There were a lot of ups and downs. I was using a different muscle group than I normally use on my (preferred) hikes.

Ok, going uphill on skis? That's straight BS. Downhill? I'm not coordinated enough to turn, so when the trail had its downhill stretches and they met curves...

I'm just gonna say that I was a victim of gravity more than a few times.

The iceover

Once again, there was a call for snow last night. Looked outside this morning and there was maybe an extra couple inches, so I headed out to work as usual. 

Turns out it was ice.

My road hadn't been cleared, but that's normal. It's a short distance to the main roads, and the highway is always clear.

Nothing was clear. It was impassable. A skating rink full of toddlers has more stability. 

I called it and slid my way back home.

Like flies

Social media, as much as it has its issues, does a great job of spreading bad news. This time, it was another high school classmate dying. There were around 400 or so in my graduating class, so I didn't know everyone, but it's become an interesting barometer. I've reflected on it more than once in this blog, but it always hits me.

Around when I got married was the time when all my friends were getting married and having kids. (I'm normally hype averse, tending to buck trends, but I couldn't let this gal go). Not long ago I was speaking with someone I've known a long time (she's around my parents age) about that, and how now all my friends are getting divorced*.

Her reply? "It's not that bad. I'm at an age where all my friends are dying"

I'll take it.

*it's not that anyone really announces it, but when you get a wedding announcement for someone you thought was already married, it tells a story. Same thing when a girl does the social media scrub, all while bragging about how much stuff she's doing 'all on her own'.

Beard accoutrements

So I've been growing a beard. It's cold out and I'm lazy, but there are political reasons behind it. Either way, that's not what I'm here to type about. It's about what I put in it.

You see my hair is naturally coarse, so I use a beard oil to soften it a bit. Works pretty well. I also have a balm that allegedly works, but I have yet to try it for very long. The problem is weather. Oil? That goes on and stays the way it is. The balm... had issues. I tried it out, then went outside.

Yea that was pretty awkward. It went from a malleable fluid to a hard wax, chunked into the hair on my face. A hair dryer and a comb combined to work it out before I could do any real cleaning.

Note to self: oil for winter, balm for summer.

Pre blizzard jitters

Once again, they were calling for a big snowstorm. Once again, I'll believe it when I see it. Here's what happens: the 100% chance of snow at 8 gets pushed to a 95% chance at 9, then a 90% chance at 10, until nothing happens. That describes 9 out of 10 EVERYBODY PANIC IT'S GONNA BLIZZARD snowstorms we get around here.

It was going to start Thursday night. At 8:15, I got a notice that school the next day was cancelled. I looked out the window and saw... nothing. It wasn't snowing at all. I won't say it was the wrong decision, because by morning there was a fresh 10 inches on the ground and apparently it came down fast enough that the plows weren't able to keep up.

I maintain a strict "believe it when I see it" attitude when it comes to the weather, and I suffer from a huge case of hype aversion, so it drives me irrationally crazy when the panicky crowd is right.