Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Yes (Say It, Mean It, Live It)

This weekend was AWESOME! Belle and I went sledding for 3 hours starting at 7am, then went out and built 3 snow forts with some friends from the neighborhood. The next evening, we played with our forts, then did some tracking (eventually finding a rabbit burrow). Belle wanted to keep the rabbits, but I was firm...

Frankly, at 7am, I was TIRED. I did not want to do ANYTHING, let alone scurry for winter clothes, dress a whirling dirvish, do the cat-herding thing to get into the car, then tromp around all creation for the day... I never want to do anything. Just ask Cheryl. If I was left to my own devices, I'd do nothing but sit at the computer all day/night, watching movies, playing games, and generally zoning out.

The trick is, even though I never feel like doing anything, I say 'yes' out of habit. As you probably know, my mom was bent on the view that variety is the spice of life (I'm with her on that). Opportunity sparks variety, so engaging in more opportunities than I feel like at the moment is key. (Grain of salt: Everything in moderation...)

Props to all you opportunity providers out there! You make my life enthusiastically enjoyable!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Snow Tires?

I work in Victor, NY now. I used to work in downtown Rochester...

My old commute was a typical, dull, flat, traffic-packed, eye-bleeding morning scenario. My new commute however, is a lovely drive over beautiful, rolling terrain. During the summer, the birds are out, the village bustles, and there's a lot to notice on the way in to work. I now see that during the winter, there's just as much beauty to behold. Today's drive in was a quiet, deliberate mosey through a misty, snow swept wilderness. Now and again, you'd see a faint light, joined by a partner grow til out of the mist, a car heading the other direction would appear. You could catch a glimpse of patches of the road you were traveling, but only with a good eye and a little luck. For the most part, you just followed the deep tracks in front of you, taking in the mysterious, and somewhat daunting beauty while remaining vigilant for traffic ahead which appeared and vanished as the blustery white vail advanced and receded with the wind.

The road was slick, and my tires are getting old. For the most part, it just took a little convincing to get my sporty red focus to start moving (not unlike myself when the alarm went off at 6:30am), however, the light at the top of a particularly steep one of those rolling hills proved... difficult.

Traffic stopped for the light. So did I.
Traffic waited for the intersection to clear. So did I.
Traffic advanced when the light turned green. I... did not.

I teased the accelerator, attempting to go from stopped to at least a crawl, but to no avail. The front tires would spin, or stop, but no progress was to be made.

Moments felt like minutes as the line of angry traffic behind me began to realize their chance at the fleeting green ahead was getting slimmer and slimmer...

Fortunately, I wasn't going backwards. I opened my door and put a foot out....

With one foot on the gas, a hand on the door, and a hand on the wheel, I used my left foot to PUUUSH against the ridiculously slick incline. Heeaaave... heeeeave... heee.. AHA! It was working! Feathering the gas and pushing the car brought me to 1 mph... 2... 5... YES!!! I WAS MOVING AGAIN!

Me and the 5 cars closest behind me made it through the light. Phew!

For the rest of the drive, I gave myself a LOT of space between myself and the car ahead of me before hills, rushing up the incline to avoid the previous situation. A quick visit to TireRack.com and a grand later, both my Focus and Corolla will be sporting the automotive equivalent of some fancy new Gore-Tex boots for the rest of the season. :)

How has the weather been treating you?