I’ve always liked that song by Claude Thornhill.

This morning, a very light snow is falling. I don’t know what it is about that particular event, but it exudes a sense of calm, peace and tranquility, don’t you think? I like to watch the snow early in the morning (and I do get up at the butt crack of dawn) from my kitchen, down the stairs of my back porch and into the yard. Rousseau likes to lie down in the stuff — no joke. Eskimo dog.

Maybe it’s because snowfall is silent. It arrives secretly, when you’re not looking, and just operates in the background as you go about your day. Have you ever awoken to find a gorgeous blanket of white outside that wasn’t there when you went to bed? I like that. It’s a cozy surprise — one to follow up with coffee or cocoa, and snuggling up on the sofa with a comforter and a book, or a Christmas movie. Ah….

Alas, it’s 5:24 a.m. and no call yet, so time to wake up and get going. There’ll be time enough for lazy, snowy mornings in eight more days. But who’s counting?

Well let’s add some more to this list and this, too (had a good laff over that one). It’s been a few months since I yammered on in list form about stuff that truly bugs me; you can imagine the conglomerate tectonic pressure.

More Annoying Things

1. Doing stuff you know you will pay for later, like trying to open a metal rolltop window (the one in our light booth at school) by yourself. Stupid raging backache anyhow. Ouch. I am not 20 anymore. Or 30 or 40, either. Carp.
2. Waking at 4:22 to the sound of dog yak. On the bedroom carpet, of course.
3. When people blame their personal “issues” on others.
4. When a high school student leaves a nasty, sticky, half-consumed bottle of Gatorade on the television stand in my classroom, invoking the establishment of a new rule: bring a bottle, serve an hour. So it is written.
5. Starting a new diet every day. (Thirty-year, fun-filled habits are hard to break.)
6. When parents go to astronomical heights in order to facilitate the avoidance of punishment for their angelic child who would never, ever tell a lie to get out of trouble. (What happened to the parenting of my day: “You get in trouble at school, and you’re in twice as much when you get home”)
7. Being behind the 8-ball. Rehearsal with bass player and drummer today, and no parts for them. Thumbs up on that, Finkly.
8. When people steal your joy.
9. When you feel betrayed.
10. When you have barely enough coffee left for one pot (but, thank the gods, that’s what I had left).

All right, fiends. A little commiseration here. Ready, steady, go.

FO

And here we go…

The first real snow shower of the year. It hasn’t happened quite yet, but it’s on the way today.

Tonight is the band concert, and the track record for weather-related cancellations is amazing, although it should be no problem tonight. I’ve had to cancel a choir concert only once in my career (2007), but the poor band at my school has been hit hard. Two or three cancellations that I can remember.

Hard to believe Texas had snow before we did. Ross, aren’t you in Houston? Did people (drivers) flip out? BoomR, how bad was it in Dallas?

I hope the roads are all right in general this holiday, with my children and their spouses driving everywhere. I also hope it’s nice weather on Christmas morning, when the Thriller and I take off for Detroit. Greektown Casino gave us two free nights in the hotel, free meals, and $250 in cash. How cool is that? It’s an offer we cannot refuse. Merry merry indeed. It will be the first major road trip for the LowVeo — the warm-up round for the biggy in July. Thumbs up.

Alas, I cannot think about all this today. I have a wonderful day at school to look forward to, with nine more wonderful days after that. And I still don’t have a Dinner Theatre audition piece ready. Think I ought to get going on that, since auditions are on the 17th? Yeah, probably.

Last night’s feast with Kay was great fun! It is a Slovenian tradition to bring gifts on the night of um….er….dang I forget what it’s called, but it’s basically a giving-of-gifts night before Christmas, since the 25th is a religious holiday only. Anyway, we all got PEZ. Awesome, da?

Finky the snowman, over and out

OK, at long last. The new ride.

I love how it drives and how it looks. Seamus told me, “You will have people asking you what kind of car it is” (because of its “de-badged” condition — there are no Chevy bowtie emblems anywhere on it). I thought, “Yeah, maybe.” Well I definitely had people asking me about it. “Is it a mini-SUV?” “What kind of car is that?”

Me likey. And the best part is — room for more than one other person. Yay! My turn to drive.

Behold, the Finkmobile (aka 2008 Chevrolet Aveo 5):

Love it. Fun to have new stuff, eh?