I don’t like the cold. At all. (And before I get remarks on my California weather wussiness [I'm looking at you, Kathi ], 43 degrees and raining IS cold when you’re born and raised in a place where 68 is the average temperature for the entire year. 79 is the average high, and 50 is the average low. I’m totally not making that up. I have proof!) I realize that being cold is easier to deal with than being warm, as you can keep piling on layers until you’ve reached your own personal tolerable temperature. But being cold hurts. It makes my joints and muscles ache. I’d much rather be hot and spend half my existence in the nearest body of water. But that’s just me. (And if you live in a normally cold area, I’ll let it slide when you complain about the heat. At 70 degrees.)

This is the view from the entrance to my office. It freaking snowed last night. Those mountains are just on the other side of the freeway from me, and are the same mountains that were on fire last October.

I’ve never seen snow so low. I’m told by coworkers that it was snowing on them on the drive home, which is absolutely unheard of in my area. Now if you go maybe 30 minutes north of us, it’s not quite as uncommon. But here? Not so much.

So now I get to whine about the cold. Because it SNOWED here. Granted, the snow hasn’t actually touched my person, but still, it’s close!

The last week in bullets:

• I caved in and bought a Wii. Again. I’d wanted one almost since I sold mine last year (for financial and logistical reasons), and since I moved the furniture in my living room, and saved all my pennies (almost literally) I decided that would be my Hanukkah/Christmas present to myself. So the Wii, Rock Band, and Super Mario Kart (along with various other games) have made their way into my living room. I’m getting myself a Wii Fit, as soon as the stores get restocked, and then I’m done with Wii purchases for a while.
• Donald and I found a great dueling piano bar/lounge on Friday night and had a blast there. The food was pretty good, the service was great, and the piano players were hilarious. The range of music was huge. We heard Journey, Garth, Three Doors Down, Def Leppard, Madonna, Elton John, and many others. I can’t wait to drag my friends over there!
• Saturday night we went to one of the best hockey games I’ve ever seen. Not just because the Reign won, but because they played well, scored often (5-1 was the final) and beat the crap out of the other team. The Falcons (the opposing team) racked up 45 minutes in penalties in the third period alone, and had 2 guys kicked out of the game for misconduct (one for excessive fighting with a Reign player that never threw a punch back, and the other for spearing a Reign player in his…tender area). 
• In addition to the excitement on the ice, two of the deejays (Shawn and Paul) from one of my favorite radio stations sat right in front of us! Literally! And then, due to some sort of miscommunication, they moved up a row and were right next to us! I know this is not exciting for any of you, but I was quite star struck. I immediately recognized Shawn when they were first sitting down, and pointed him out to Donald (who was not a tenth as excited as I was about this). Paul I recognized when he spoke to someone nearby, as he has a very distinctive voice, and has been on several radio stations out here, going back to when I was a kid. Stupidly, I left Donald’s pen in the car after I borrowed it, so I couldn’t get an autograph. (And yes, I totally was going to ask for one.)
• After months of searching, Donald got a great new job offer! He actually started out there today, and I’m very excited for him. It’s a bit over an hour away, but closer than the 120 mile round trip he’d been doing for the past 12 years. I hope it’s everything he’s been looking for!
• The past few weekends we’ve been visiting model homes in new communities, and just seeing what’s available. The majority of them have been WAY out of our price range, but it’s fun to look at the different layouts and home decor. Some of the interior designers that are used are VERY good. Others… well I guess they’re just not to my taste. Saturday we started searching out homes that would be a little closer to what we can afford. We’re looking to move somewhere between where we both work, and not too far from our group of friends. We’re not in any hurry, and have considered apartment living for a while, to save up a significant down payment. But model visiting has become one of my favorite pastimes!
• I am almost done with my Hanukkah and Christmas shopping, and I am SO glad. I got one of the last of my Christmas presents yesterday, and am almost done addressing all my Christmas cards. (Last chance for anyone who wants a cute card! E-mail me your address and I’ll get one to you!) I can’t believe Hanukkah and Christmas are both next week. Where has the time gone?

Ahh, a week's break from my drivel! I enjoyed the rest, but I've been told I need to start posting again. So here I go.

I read a blog this morning that linked to this person, and due to boredom (and a need to avoid the project I was working on for 5 more minutes) I clicked and stumbled upon this post. (Beware the gratuitous cursing. Don't say I didn't warn you.) I don't know the author, and today is the first time I've ever read her website. But I read that post and the first thing I thought was HALLELUJAH!It's about damn time someone said exactly that.

I cannot tell you how many times I've been in a restaurant and heard a nearby patron being a complete jerk to the waitstaff for no particular reason whatsoever. Sometimes they have a bad day. Give them a break, for pity's sake. I've had crappy service. In fact, I had a seriously crappy waitress at the bar just yesterday. But I didn't yell at her. I wasn't mean to her. I was still polite when I asked for a glass of water (for the 3rd time). I didn't snap when she brought my french fries, but forgot the hot dog to go with them. I wanted to, but I kept it to myself. Because I figure she could have been having a bad day. She could be overwhelmed by the crowd of crazy football fans that packed the place. Or she could just suck at her job.  Any way you look at it, she's doing me a favor by bringing me the food and drink that I'm requesting, even if she is getting paid for it.

I was getting a pedicure about a month ago, when this lady across from me completely lost her mind and began screaming and yelling at the woman who was helping her. We're not talking a stern lecture type voice. We're talking top of her lungs shrieking about the HORRIBLE color of the nail polish (that she picked out herself) and the TERRIBLE shape of her toenails. She screamed at this poor woman who hardly spoke a word of English, and clearly had no idea why this woman was freaking out. Another girl who appaeared to speak a bit more English, though not a ton herself, came over to try and help the situation. (I'm pretty sure the only thing that could help the situation at this point was a straight jacket and a lovely padded room, but that's just me.) The woman just kept screaming and hollering about how she could have one a better job herself at home and there was no way she'd be spending FIFTEEN WHOLE DOLLARS (!!!) on this shoddy work. She then shoved over the entire display rack of nail polish. Bottles exploded all over the floor, and those that didn't explode rolled every which way they could. The salon finally called security, who tried to calm her down (while quite noticeably rolling their eyes behind her back) and they in turn called the police. I left just as the police arrived, but I'm hoping that they arrested her for destruction of property, disturbing the peace, and anything else they could possibly charge her with. And I'm hoping the salon presses those charges to the full extent that they can. It was unbelievable.

I can't imagine treating someone that way. And I hope the next time it happens in front of me, I'll say something to stop it.