Two weeks?

[yendi]

Yeah, thanks to the ongoing Snowpocalypse, I've way behind on LJ. Still reading, still have about a dozen half-written entries, but just haven't had the time or energy to post. For those not up on things in the Boston area, this piece pretty much sums it up, and it was written before the most recent storm, which added enough to make this the second snowiest winter in Boston history so far. Unlike the other record-setting winters, this has all happened in less than a month (7.5 feet of snow since January 23). Public transit, already hamstrung thanks to over twenty years of bad political leadership, has been awful, to the point where I, as someone who only uses the bus, am actually better off then folks in a position to take trains (a rarity). This is the first Monday in a month during which work wasn't cancelled for snow, and that's only because it's a holiday;

And walking? Forget it.

I know I've ranted about this before, but walking is fucking vital to my physical and emotional health. On almost any given weekday, I'll walk anywhere from 6-12 miles going back and forth to the office. The only reasons I don't walk at least the complete route one-way are A) an injury of some sort; B) rain; C) extreme cold (even without the snow, I'll pass on being outside right now, with the -16 windchill), and D) when there's so much fucking snow piled up, there are no viable sidewalks anywhere and every street is basically a mix of slush and ice. The first three reasons are both rare and generally short-lived. D, on the other hand, has been going on for well over three weeks now, and will continue for at least another week, probably two or three or even more.

I've gained at least ten pounds in the last month (starting with Arisia, where I just tend to eat poorly). With the exception of last Friday -- where, thanks to a bus that decided to not run its full route, and another that showed late, I ended up walking three dangerous miles -- I haven't had a day with a significant walk in ages. Aside from my exercise, walking's the best time for me to gather my thoughts, make plans for the day, and also listen to podcasts (I've never been able to work and podcast at the same time, alas).

Going to a gym isn't really an option, since getting to any of the reasonable ones isn't really viable unless things clear up (and the ones I could take a bus to are in towards the city and pricey as fuck), in which case, I could, you know, take a walk. Shoveling snow has taken its place to a certain extent, but between the sheer pain of doing it (on top of everything else, I took a fall last week), and the fact that there's literally no place to put the snow, it's less and less viable.

Like so many of the most frustrating things in life, of course, it's something that's hard to find a target at which to point the anger; I'm literally railing against the weather, and while there are a few specific things that could have been changed (see the stuff about the T above), for the most part, it's a natural fucking disaster, and it's just something I know I have to deal with.

This too shall pass (although not without consequences; the entire region's taking a huge economic hit that it won't get out for months if not longer, and the temperatures ensure high heating bills over the next few months). But in the meantime, I'm behind on everything, and will probably remain so for at least a month.

(Oh, and if you're the sort of person who wants Boston-area folks to stop complaining, go read that first link and then kindly fuck off. Thanks!)

Comments

[greylistening.livejournal.com]

Arrgh! I arrgh for you!

[yendi]

I've been arrghing a lot these days!

[brithistorian.livejournal.com]

Here's hoping things start looking better for you soon. In the meantime, just try to hang in there.

[yendi]

Thanks. Worse case scenario, we should totally be back to normal by July 2016 or so.

[brithistorian.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I only wish you weren't heading for something resembling the worst case scenario.

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

I keep trying to tell myself that things HAVE to get better - we're getting more sunlight, so that has to make temps eventually go up and storms harder to stay potent, right? Or something? SOMETHING HAS TO HELP!!

[yendi]

I keep telling myself the same things! I mean, the sunlight did work to take care of the unshovelable snow that stuck to the outside stairs (the half I manages to shovel), so that's something!

[rolypolypony.livejournal.com]

See! There's hope, yet! I hope.

The solution is simple...

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Re: The solution is simple...

[yendi]

:-)

Trust me, any and all potential sacrifices have been considered.

Re: The solution is simple...

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

What's this from?

Re: The solution is simple...

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Storm of the Century.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound like such a crazy old-lady idea, but maybe doing a DVD like "Walking Away the Pounds"? It has 1-4 mile walks with elastic-bands and the such. It helps me when I'm going stir crazy.

[yendi]

I've generally found that while series like that might work for exercise to a greater or lesser extent, they don't work as well psychologically, since I want to lose myself while walking. But I do have some exercise DVDs I'm going to try at some point.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Oh, I completely get it. You can observe and be part of the world versus "Damnit, 45 more minutes."

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

In the same vein on "being behind", I'm still trying to decide whether to run my new-year's meme.

[yendi]

New Year's an arbitrary date, so you can always declare one youself.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I'm sorry, that sucks. my thing is the extreme cold - once it gets below 15 degrees (Less than zero with windchill) I'm really not feeling the long walks. I take Coco out because she needs it, but they're not the 20-40 minute walks we normally take.

Crossing my fingers for you guys. (And hey, at least Octavio is staying South! And pummeling us instead. Sigh.)

[yendi]

I've found (from true experience) that I can handle anything above single digits, although I admit to cutting those walks short a bit.

Yeah, Nicky's walks have been shorter than usual. Although the advantage of his tiny size is that he's protected from much of the wind when he walks through the tunnel we've carved in the snow.

[sparkfrost.livejournal.com]

I wish Coco were bothered by the cold on her walks, it'd give me a real excuse! But alas, we put on her fleece and wool coat and she'll go forever. It's when my face goes numb that I can't take it any more. :-P

[yendi]

Heh. Nicky's actually generally okay with cold, but won't go out if it's snowing or if snow's on the top step, and is too tiny to make it over the . He also won't wear fleece or boots, in spite of his short hair and warm climate upbringing. Stubborn dog.

[p-m-cryan.livejournal.com]

I am with you on the "walking is necessary for my sanity" front.

Both Wormtown and Beantown are cities under siege. No joke.

[yendi]

Seriously. "Siege" feels like a perfect word.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

(Oh, and if you're the sort of person who wants Boston-area folks to stop complaining, go read that first link and then kindly fuck off. Thanks!)

Good grief. People actually say that? (Yeah, I know, of course they do; there are jerks all over. But, sheesh...)

And walking = sanity, oh yes. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't walk. If Karen had lived somewhere less walk-friendly - I dunno. I might not be here.

[yendi]

Good grief. People actually say that? (Yeah, I know, of course they do; there are jerks all over. But, sheesh...)

Yeah. I mean, compared to some of the stuff said on the internet, it's tame, but still annoys me. It comes in two stripes: the Florida/California "haha, should have lived in a warm state" flavor, and the Buffalo/Chicago "ha, you should have better infrastructure to deal with the snow, even though our cities and situations aren't comparable at all" flavor.

Fortunately, such folks are easy to ignore.

Having lived in a non-walking-friendly city (Atlanta), I know it's still possible to find ways to do it, but it's aggravating.

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

I hear ya...well, as bad as it is in PA, we have NOTHING on Boston these days.

[yendi]

Hoth pretty much has nothing on Boston these days, either.

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

"b'Hoth'ton"? Not worse than "Hothlanta", that's for sure.

[letoile82.livejournal.com]

It is ridiculous - snow after snow after more freaking snow! I've had to use my vacation time because my company won't actually close due to snow - even during a driving ban! I can't wait to go in tomorrow, and risk the roof collapsing, because they're too cheap to clear the snow so this is what some of the offices looked like on Friday before this last round of snow:


I wonder if we will ever see an end to it all!

[yendi]

Jesus. That's outright dangerous.

And I'm appalled that any place stays open (other than hospitals and similar services) during the driving bans.

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

https://twitter.com/urbandata/status/569146124726091776/photo/1
http://www.bdcwire.com/how-a-group-of-local-shovelers-dug-a-40-foot-snow-tunnel-on-a-medford-bike-path/