Just Leave The Bottle

I have decided to have one of those good ol' fashioned Whine And Cheese Parties.  The dairy portion of the festivities was taken care of at dinner time when I toasted up a couple slices of the cheesy bread I made over the weekend.  That was nice.  And now all that's left is to pour out some liberal servings of Whine.  

The First Vintage Of The Evening:  GSOM

The General Sense Of Malaise continues, although now there is a noticeable increase in the aching of the joints.  I'm stuffy, sore and grumpy.  And I still can't convince a single soul at school to send me home.  I put on my best show, periodically holding my head, shivering a bit and softly groaning.  Nuthin'.  Not a single soul stepped up to say that I should really be at home in bed.  

Finally, having exhausted my Award Winning Repertoire Of Sickly Behaviors, I resorted to simply saying, "I do not feel very well today."  I said this loudly and repeatedly.  Again, there was little in the way of response.  Unless, of course, you count nine million phone calls, meetings and demands for my attention as responses.  If you do, then I suppose you could say that I was responded to all over the stupid place.

But this was not what I wanted.  I wanted sympathy and I wanted it NOW, by God!  What else was there for me to do but simply state my needs?  "Excuse me, but I have been shivering and groaning until my throat has become parched and not a one of you has suggested that I go home.  What does a girl have to do to get some of that sweet, sweet sympathy around here??"

The teaching staff ignored me for the most part.  No one really enjoys the day when I am not there.  Not because I am so delightful, but because my students are less so.  Everyone suddenly becomes very busy when I am not in school to ride herd on the little darlings.  

For the record, the kids were quite enthusiastic about my leaving for the day.  That was nice.  Except that I don't really trust their motives...

The Second Vintage Of The Evening:  More With The Frozen, Falling Flakes Of Doom

I've mentioned before my thoughts regarding low pressure systems and the effects they have on children.  I may have also mentioned my general distaste for weather, particularly the kind that gets in my way or makes me have to go out and move my car.  You can only imagine my joy to see this little gem of a forecast:

No.  We are all set with snow for the moment.  This will not be necessary.

It is very bad form to predict a snow day, especially when the storm is expected to start after 7:00 in the morning and could allow us all to get to school safe and sound.  However I think that, given the amounts we are looking at, it is fair to say that at least part of tomorrow will be spent at home.  

I like the "home" part.  It's just the extra foot of snow to which I am objecting.  That seems a bit extreme.  We already have snow, lots of it.  Adding another foot is just mean-spirited.

The Third Vintage Of The Evening:  Auto-Dial

When you are feeling a General Sense Of Malaise, have spent your day dealing with students who are fighting off the effects of a low pressure system and are dreading the thought of having to drive to and from school the next day in a blizzard, getting a call from the school at dinner time can really lift your spirits.  Why, they may be canceling early just to get ahead of the crowd!  How very thoughtful of them!  Now I don't need to worry about dragging my Malaise out of bed tomorrow so I can drive in a blizzard to face the "spirited" students who actually want me to stay home so they can plan their coup.  I'll just lie abed like a proper Sickly Person and not have to set the alarm at all!  Oh, that school district!  Always thinking of me...

Auto-dial is a tricky thing.  You get calls for everything the school district is thinking about, not just cancellation notices.  Tonight I was treated to the mellifluous voice of my principal (seriously...he's had vocal training) while he shared with me the joys of Financial Aid Night!  Should I desire information on how best to fund my non-existent children's college experience, I should really plan to be there.  I listened to the whole message just in case there was a cancellation at the end of it.

There wasn't.

On the bright side (yes, there always is one if you look from the right angle) it really does seem unlikely that I will be teaching for a full day tomorrow, if at all.  My Malaise and I can sit at home where we have been trying to get people to send us for two days now.  If that is the case, it seems very, very likely that I will finish a sock.  I honestly don't see any way around it unless I don't knit at all and who doesn't knit at all?  In the worst case scenario, I'll get it almost finished...but there is no way that I won't be somewhere in the vicinity of the finish line tomorrow.  And then I'll have a pair of Happy Pink Socks!  Happy Pink Socks are just the thing for a girl dragging around a big ol' hunk of Malaise, right?

Maybe I'll even be wearing them when the rescue dogs come to dig me and my Malaise out of the snowbank we will no doubt be trapped in when we try to move the car...

SA