Karma Bitten

Okay, so I should not have been complaining about the lack of snow yesterday.  It would not be the first time my big mouth was appropriately riposted by the Big Guy.  We were supposed to get a mere dusting of snow but I forgot (it’s early in the winter) that I live in a vortex where snow consistently tries to overachieve. 

After finishing my adventures with Buddy the Wonder Pooch yesterday I took my car into work instead of my wife’s four wheel drive, big mistake.  It snowed off and on throughout the day in Worcester but was pretty consistent with what the weather dudes had been calling for so I thought I was all set.  Shortly before leaving for home I received a call from a very concerned wife asking me why I hadn’t taken her car.  It had snowed pretty constantly throughout the day back at the house on the hill.  I experienced a Zen moment of someone channeling “told you so” at that point.

Wife Took This Photo of Driveway At Height of Storm

I took the major roads home instead of my customary back road and it was evident as I got closer that my wife was right to be concerned.  The road crews must have watched the same weather forecast I had because the amount of snow surprised them as well which led to inevitable flatlander drivers snarling everything up.  I couldn’t avoid the back roads for the last few miles and gained a new appreciation for the anti-lock braking system even if it scares the hell out of you when it engages. 

Back Yard This Morning

Since the limit I’ll attempt my driveway is a half inch I didn’t even try when I found a three inch blanket with some bigger drifts covering the surface.  I parked down by the mail box and walked up to the house hotly  anticipating deploying my new snow blower for the first time.  That was a lot of fun although operating an unfamiliar machine in the dark led to some fairly comical gaffes.  I learned it’s important to shift the machine out of reverse when you want to go forward.  My man parts paid the price several times before I learned this.  At least my singing voice can now reach a couple higher octaves now.  Love the new machine though and it handled the hill even better than I hoped. 

My Stack of Spreadsheets - So Much Fun!

Work will be a lot of fun this week as I am deeply immersed in 42 different spreadsheets that need to by updated prior to a scheduling exercise next week. My excellent boss decided to insert a five minute break for the drivers on each of their shifts which sounds a lot easier than it is translating into reality when the entire schedule has to shift five minutes every four hours.  Excel is my life this week which actually turns into almost a game of mental discipline where I can’t forget to follow certain steps or I’m meat. 

Date night last night and I coxed the wife out into the cold via various air lock maneuvers to see the movie Out of the Furnace.  This film boasts a dream team level cast with every single speaking role carrying a heavyweight, including several Oscar winners.  Unfortunately the script wasn’t up to the caliber of the actors although they manage to lift it consistently above its content.

It revolves around the themes of family, revenge and fate with a decent man (Christian Bale) faced with incredible challenges and his response to them.  It’s set in Pennsylvania steel country and involves a conflict with New Jersey hillbillies.  I didn’t even know there were hills in New Jersey much less a hillbilly underground.  Woody Harrelson plays the bad guy (a really bad guy) to the hilt.

The movie had real potential but the director tries to get too artistic as he jumps between events and leaves a lot of secondary characters underdeveloped.  I think he went to the Malick school of believing obscurity is a strength, even when it brings a movie to a screeching halt.  The movie is worth seeing simply for the performances of the superb cast but it hurts that it could have been so much more.