Archive | February, 2007

Free At Last!

17 Feb

And then, at 4:32 pm, my car rolled out of its parking spot.

I know I shouldn’t make such a big deal about digging my car out — or in this case, de-icing it — especially in light of the fact that we’re due to get another 2-4 inches of snow on Sunday, and because doing so only serves as a jinx and will guarantee I’ll be stuck again come tomorrow morning, but I don’t know … getting my car out of its spot today felt like a major accomplishment.

After clearing all the snow off my car, crushing the ice and packed snow around my tires, and rocking the car back and forth by shifting into Drive and Reverse over and over, I still hadn’t gotten very far. A neighbor came over and volunteered to put the car in reverse for me while I pushed, and that didn’t do much. Nor did it help when two other neighbors came over to help me push. And we all kept looking to see why I couldn’t move, but there was seemingly no good reason because all the wheels were clear and the mound of snow behind my car was low enough. It had to be something else.

And then, all of a sudden, without any help, after people had gone their own separate ways, my car just, uh, moved. Backwards. All the way over the ice and snow and onto the black pavement. And I could finally see what was holding it in place all that time. And the answer, plain and simple, seemed to be ice. But not just any ice — this must have been super powered ice from another world, whose grip on my car knew no limits. It was determined to not let me go to the Atrium, or Best Buy, or any of the other places I had to go today.

And yet, I can say that my patience paid off and I was able to go to those places and more (despite the late start to my day, mainly because I was waiting for the air and ground to warm up above freezing). Now we’ll see what happens in the morning when I go to move my car again. Still, today I feel a great deal of accomplishment.

Winter: 1, Martin: 0

15 Feb

To be honest, it wasn’t really a fair fight.

Even though I didn’t have anywhere to go, I decided to be smart for a change and go defrost my car tonight before the iced-up snow got any thicker. And at first I thought I was actually going to do a good job; the heat was up way high, circulating all over the car, I was able to push and release huge chunks of snow and lift them up with my hands, then foist them on the pavement and watch as they broke into multiple pieces, and everything was going well. A few times I actually stood there and laughed. “Winter won’t beat me this time. Look how I can lift the heavy snow off my car. This almost too easy.”

And yes, I spoke too soon, because not five minutes after I started, my ice scraper, my Extender Ice Scraper, which had served me well in the past, broke. In half. The brush and scraper came right off and I was left with that and a pole. So I tried to run the pole over the snow and create blocks that I could remove, but alas, this snow was too firmly attached to my windshield and I didn’t want to risk breaking the glass.

Eventually I got enough off so I could see clear across my windshield, and I thought now it would be time for me to at least try to get out of my parking spot. Well, if I moved two inches, that was a lot. And when I started to smell the foul smell of rubber burning, I knew it was time to give up and go inside.

So, winter, you may have beaten me this time … but it’s a long season and I’m not giving up yet. I’ll be back, with a better, stronger scraper and a better plan, and oh yes, I will beat you. Be ready.

[Full disclosure: that picture is not from this week. It’s from after a storm a couple years ago.]

This Doesn’t Rock

15 Feb

I don’t know whose brilliant idea it was to include aging, wrinkly musicians with the models in this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, but I’ll just say it like it is: seeing Steven Tyler rocking out with a model (in this case, Bar Refaeli) is just not a turnon. Other not-so-exciting singers in the portfolio: Gnarls Barkley, Panic at the Disco, and Jimmy Buffett. Clearly, it was fun for them — not so much for us. I remember the days when it was just the models in the swimsuit issue. When Kathy Ireland and Elle MacPherson would smile out at me and all the cold of winter would suddenly disappear. Those were the good ole days. This Steven Tyler and Cee-Lo crap just ain’t hot. Not that it’s going to stop me from buying the issue, mind you (that Beyoncé cover alone is worth the price), but I wanted to bitch about it anyway.

Vote for Haley

14 Feb

Well, my favorite American Idol contestant, Haley Scarnato, has made it to the top 24. Last week I told you she was one to watch, and now I’m getting a little confident in my prediction. I mean, she’s already got a fan site and a blog (sort of), and a Google search produces all kinds of results. Clearly I’m not the only one who sees her potential. So next Wednesday night, when the top 12 women perform, do your part and vote for Haley. Woo hoo! (And if you need reminding of how good — and good looking — she is, here’s her initial audition clip again.)

Live-Blogging the Weather?

14 Feb

Some people live-blog award shows and others live-blog Super Bowl commercials. But how come no one live-blogs the weather, especially on a day like today? I mean, it may not be all that interesting by comparison (9:38 — It’s snowing really hard; 10:22 — Now it’s starting to turn to rain; 3:40 — The wind has really picked up) but wouldn’t it be infinitely more practical and useful? I mean, forget those weatherpeople on TV, stuck inside their comfortable studios with their computers, telling us how much rain has accumulated or what the forecast is. And forget the reporters all across the region telling us that, yup, it’s snowing out here in Worcester (or up in Marblehead, or out in Framingham, or wherever the reporters are stationed). What I want to know when I go out to lunch or home at the end of the day is, what is it really like out there? Are the winds really as bad as they sound? Is the rain coming down hard, or is it just misty? And how have the conditions changed over the course of the day?

I think it’d actually be fun to have a regular Joe (or Jane) post a dispatch from his or her experience of being outside every so often (like, say, every hour) saying what the conditions were like. For example, when I went out to lunch earlier today, it really wasn’t so bad walking down Summer Street toward Downtown Crossing. But as soon as I turned the corner on Chauncy St. onto Franklin, that’s when the wind and rain became a bit of a problem. That’s valuable information. If I had documented that here, in a running commentary that I updated often, maybe I could have provided a service. Not that such a thing would have to be so exact so you knew exactly where the person went. But at least you’d know what the weather was like downtown.

I know Mike Wankum, from channel 5, has a blog and I’m sure there are other weatherpeople who do, too, but I want someone down on the ground, one of the “real” people out there, to give me an actual weather report, not a forecast. I think that’d be a good read.

What I Did For Love

14 Feb

As is well-documented on this site, my theory on Valentine’s Day — especially if you’re like me and don’t have anyone to spend the day with — is to be good to yourself and spend the day doing things you love. So despite the storm (which sounds worse as it hits the skylights in my office than it actually is outside), I made the hike over to Sam Lagrassa’s for lunch today. And damn if it wasn’t worth it. As always, my roast beef was freshly sliced and warm, the Italian roll was doughy and good, and the mayonnaise, lettuce, and cucumber provided the perfect accompaniments. Suffice it to say, it was yet another excellent sandwich from Sam’s. And thanks to one of my coworkers, who ordered holiday cupcakes for the office, I also had a tasty dessert.

So, storm be damned, I am in love — with myself. I hope you all have Valentines who go that extra mile to make you happy today too.

The St. Valentine’s Day Mess

14 Feb

I don’t know what’s lamer: that there’s a big storm on Valentine’s Day, or that all the snow we have waited all winter for and that was only on the ground for, like, an hour is already getting washed away by all this stupid rain. Are we ever going to get a real snowstorm this year?? You know, one with accumulation that stays on the ground for at least a day? I’d say at this point we’ve earned it.

Love Is All Around

14 Feb

In honor of Valentine’s Day, just thought I’d compile a short list of some of the things I love today:
* the Oreo cookies at the Paradise Bakery in the Pru
* Eddie Murphy’s Delirious — especially the “Ice Cream Man” bit
* getting a seat on the T in the morning
* Lost and Grey’s Anatomy
* waking up with Ann Curry
* the cake at Shaw’s
* my new computer
* Business 2.0‘s “101 Dumbest Moments in Business“
* quarter-zip sweaters
* Countdown with Keith Olbermann
* hot chocolate on a cold day
* a roast beef sandwich on an Italian roll from Sam Lagrassa’s
* Barats and Bereta
* snow!
* baseball is back!
* you (yes, you)

It’s a Miracle

12 Feb

Two of my friends are due to give birth this week. One of them is having twins. Which means that by week’s end, there will be three more little babies in the world. Life’s amazing, ain’t it?

Good, In Any Language

11 Feb

As I’ve previously said, when I see movies after the Oscar nominations have been announced, I’m skeptical that the movie is that good.

So I’m happy to say that yes, Babel is a very good movie.

Is it one of the year’s best? Sure, I’d say it’s worthy of the nomination. But I’m not going to adjust my top 10 to include it. I wonder if I’d have liked it as much if I saw the movie when it was first released in October. Continue reading →

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