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Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Weather Forecast Shenanigans

Am I the only one who has noticed, like in the past year or so, that the weather “people” haven’t been getting BETTER with all their fancy shmancy equipment and whatnot?  They are getting much WORSE at predicting the weather on a day-by-day basis.  They TRULY don’t know in the A.M what it will be like in the P.M.  Have you noticed that?  If there are others out there like me…oh right…well, if there is anyone out there who likes to plan things around the weather forecast, for example, I don’t really like to waste a day off if it’s not going to be sunny outside.  I mean seriously.  Why the crap would I want a day off if I can’t be outside getting some sun and whatnot?  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but it’s TORTURE for me to be inside when it’s sunny.  I don’t know, I guess it’s possible that other people don’t even realize how horrible the weather people have gotten and maybe that’s why they still put up with this crap.  Well, it would be fanTAStic, to me at least, if some of you would do me the favor of printing out the weather forecast on a daily basis and then make notes on it for about a week or so and just SEE how horrible they are.  No, I’m not a friggin freak, I’m just trying to prove a point.  HA!  I mean, they have said on Friday that it was going to be SUNNY both Saturday and Sunday and showed bright suns with zero clouds in the little picture and all that.  Then, the next morning and all day Saturday, I never saw the sun--at all!  WTH?  I don’t understand how you can be THAT wrong.  That’s not a little off--it’s a LOT off.  Don’t get my hopes up and then crash and burn them like that.  I have enough of that.  GEEZ!  If they want to be safe, they should just say “partly cloudy” everyday, but it wasn’t even “partly cloudy” that day at my house.  It was COMPLETELY cloudy.  UH!  OK, I’ll try to stop ranting now because I want to enjoy my 3 day weekend, but I swear, I BETTER have some decent weather!!!  They SAY it’s going to be in the 80’s at least and I can handle that!

April 7--The Montgomery Zoo Shenanigans

This past weekend was Zoo Weekend in Montgomery and Jake & I were there from 9-2 on Saturday!  It was better than I expected.  The last time I went to something like that was a Zoo Boo and was pushed and shoved and stood in long lines and said I would never go back.  This time, we hit it early and it was great!  If you've never been to the Montgomery Zoo, you are really missing something.  They have improved it SO much since I was a kid.  I remember how awful and small the cages were when I was a kid.  They continue to add new exhibits and features to the zoo every year and it HAS to be one of the best, now, in the entire South.  I would bet on it!  They just opened an actual PONY RIDE that is permanent with the most beautiful ponies that take you on a cute little trail, not just a circle.  They also let you feed the giraffes and I think you're supposed to get to feed the elephants, but we missed that one.  It was SUPER NEAT to get to feed and pet a giraffe.  They have also built a wonderful playground to stop and rest and even have a picnic if you choose.  And they are FINALLY taking advantage of that beautiful lake/pond, whatever you choose to call it, with PADDLE BOATS!  YES, that's right!  You can rent paddle boats for, in my opinion, a very reasonable price for 30 minutes.  One of the latest exhibits they are building, is a MUCH needed new habitat for the alligators (or alligator, as I only saw one this time).  Since I was a kid, the alligators have always been in that very small area and I'm sure they would be much happier in a larger area and it would be more interesting for us, too.  Perhaps they can put that GARGANTUAN Alligator Snapping Turtle in there w/ them if they are able to live together "peacefully" and/or each species hold their own.  In addition to ALL of this, (they should be paying me to write this) there is a museum that is pretty cool, in more ways than one, because it's air conditioned and very nice when it's hot outside!  So, I REALLY started writing this, not to commend the zoo on how wonderful it is....but it is...but to talk about the train and how my child wouldn't ride it this time.  I had asked him several times if he wanted to ride it before it got real busy and we had to wait in line.  Then later, we were crossing the tracks one time in the back and he tells me that was where they had an train accident when they were on a field trip to the zoo with the school.  I had forgotten about this because his father actually went with him on this one.  As he described the incident, it actually sounded like it was a pretty scary accident for a train full of 1st graders, as the train apparently was knocked off the tracks and at least part of it onto its side (now this is coming from a 7 year old).  It didn't occur to me on Saturday that this must have scared/traumatized him enough that he wouldn't want to ride the train again until this morning.  One of my co-workers was in a pretty bad accident this past weekend and it sounds like she was very lucky to have walked away from it.  She, of course though, is going to be scared/traumatized for a while at the thought of thinking she was about to die as she was about to hit an 18-wheeler (yes, she walked away from that).  It made me think about my son and the train and how he was scared to ride it this weekend and how he must be scared right now, only he didn't say it out loud.  I'm also wondering about all the other kids that were on the train that day, as it was full of 1st graders.  Are they ALL scared to ride it, now?  You  never know what is going to affect a child and how much it will affect them.  Something very little, TO YOU, may affect THEM, a LOT.  There are things from my childhood that stick out in my mind that affected me more than it probably should have, but it did.  It's just something to think about and even when your kids are very small, what we do WITH them and TO them and AROUND them really, really, REALLY affects them.  

April 7--Update, I'm still here

Warning, this first paragraph has to do w/ politics (yeah, weird coming from me) so skip it if you get offended by that sort of thing. 

WOW!  I  usually would NEVER write or even comment about politics, AND....I HATE, absolutely HATE all these shows on tv nowadays and usually stay on The Animal Planet or The History Channel, etc., AND....I have never really like Donald Trump or his spoiled daughter, BUT....he is on The Today Show right now, and he just got my vote if he runs for president.  He is SO getting my vote.  Meredith asked him what his doctrine would be concerning foreign affairs and he said (I may not be exact in my wording), "Let's take care of our own people first."  He said how we build roads and schools in Afhganistan and the next day they blow them up.  Then the next day, we start rebuilding them again when we can't get money to build schools and roads in Alabama (he said AL first) and he named a slew of other states.  He went on about this and other stuff that so far, I actually didn't disagree with and that is unusual.  I actually liked what he said.  He made more sense than anyone else I've ever heard yakking about all that.  Anyway, enough about that.  Like I said, I normally don't talk about that and I don't watch his show.  I thought about watching it this season because of the celebrities that were going to be on it, but I just don't have time for that. 

Well, I had hoped that when I started a blog, I would be able to actually write stuff a little more.  I think I need to realize that it doesn't always have to be something LONG and profound, right?  I think I made a mistake by saying I would work today, as I had originally taken today & tomorrow off for the homeschool expo, but I just have WAY to much to do at work (it's RELAY season at ACS) and I think Friday & Saturday will be the most important days at the expo.  But then I saw the weather this morning and it's going to be in the 80's, after it's bounced around from the 50's, 60's and the usual Alabama Spring weather, and I could SO be outside today.  Oh well, maybe I'll have another day outside.  It's torture for me to be inside.  It really is.  If you don't know me very well, I am someone who NEEDS to be outside in the sun.  I know the sun is bad for your skin, but it's good for my soul.  It is really and truly the ONLY thing that can totally relax me.  I love to just go out and sit or lie in the sun, period.  I like working in my backyard, too.  I have a garden that desperately needs more attention along with the rest of the yard. 

Time to get ready for work...WHOO HOO!      I guess this has just been a quick update to say that I'm still alive (if you call it that) and not much of a post.  I am going to start sending short blasts from my phone as a post.  I have no idea how that will look yet.  If I don't like it, I won't do it again.  Happy Spring!