Home · Thoughts · Dates · Policy
11-05-02 · 12-09-03 · 01-26-04
It is that time of the year again, the time of the year that almost everyone hates to work in except for the excavating companies that are plowing. When you start seeing some snow, which does accumulate to anything, everyone starts to be in a bad mood. Most people go in these bad moods because they are thinking of the amount of snow they will need to shovel this year (manual labor). Whether you are paid to remove the snow or not, no one likes to be in the cold and need to remove it. Those that are paid to plow the snow also do not like seeing lots of large snowstorms back-to-back because they do not get the chance to spend time with their family during winter.
Businesses that are busy during the warmer weather with start to slow down due to the coldness of the weather. Gas stations really feel the impact of the weather. If it is a self-serve station during a storm of any kind, people are less likely to go there because they do not want to be in that storm. At a full-serve station, people are less likely to go there because most people do not want to pay the extra 2 cents per liter for someone to pump their fuel. Tourists are the exception in all cases; they will go to whichever they come across first.
Children are the ones that have it easy during the winter. They have the ability to play in the snow and cause a mess without a care in the world. They can also be paid to shovel the snow (a little bit of work) and be not concerned about costs afterwards (the money is theirs). The main reason that children have it easy during winter is the simple fact that there is always a chance to have school cancelled due to a big storm.
For people that drive tow-trucks, wintertime is one of the busiest times of the year. This is because of the ice, snow, and slush conditions. There are those in larger vehicles (such as SUVs) that feel that they are invincible on the road. There may not be a lot of stuff on the road when they start out, however all it takes is one spot to send you off the road. There are also those people that exceed the speed limit every chance that they get. Those that exceed the speed limit a lot, cause more harm than good during the winter. They are driving faster than they should, cutting people off most of the time, and causing a higher chance for a head-on-collision due to passing at wrong times.
Wintertime is the only time of the year that everyone can say that it is the most dangerous time of the year too. You have the reckless-drivers on the road, that drive the same regardless what time of the year it is. You have the ice, snow, slush, and the extra wind every day that could cause an accident. It gets dark a lot earlier in the day, so there is a better chance to fall asleep behind the wheel (which is common with people that aren't use to driving long distances in the dark, and also older people).
Winter seems to be the time of the year that everyone has a different opinion for. Some people will hate winter because of the snow, and some will like winter because of the snow. Everyone has/will always have a different opinion about winter. There are also some people that will panic when winter arrives. These people will be in a rush to get his/her winter tires put onto his/her car. These will also be the same type of people that are driving the Sports Utility Vehicles that pass everyone when the snow in on the ground. These people believe that the winter tires will protect them. These people are the reason for insurance costs going up in the different areas. These people will also be the first to "ditch" his/her vehicle because he/she passed vehicles with 4-way flashers on, and couldn't control the vehicle when finishing the pass. These people shouldn't be allowed to have a license, however insurance companies wouldn't be able to hike the rates after that happening.
As I have seen in the news, the Maritimes have been having its share of snow for this winter. Usually all the provinces get hit with approximately the same amount of snow, however this week is different. New Brunswick (Moncton) reported to have 52 cm of snow (chased by an additional 15 cm) while a place like Nova Scotia (Halifax) reported to have 4-5 cm of snow. That is one hell of a difference especially where in other years the amounts would be closer. Halifax must be counting its lucky stars for that storm missing. I say this because Cape Breton had received 25+ cm during last week, when Halifax received a couple of flurries that accounted to nothing. Mother Nature must be being nice to Halifax after giving it a direct hit from Hurricane Juan. If Mother Nature is not being merciful to Halifax right now, then Mother Nature is preparing for one hell of a storm for them. Mother Nature can be nice at times and be just as nasty at times. Halifax should prepare for the worst so that they cannot be disappointed if nothing happens to them.
Winter also has Christmas associated with it. Some people try to forget that winter is associated with Christmas however he/she cannot get around it when the phrase of "white Christmas" is used. To have the "white Christmas" it requires snow, however to have the snow you need to have winter (or at least winter weather). I have found that many people would like to have snow only when they have days off, or when the snow would cause him/her to have the day off. These people are selfish and do not care for the "fun" that comes with snow. As children everyone enjoyed to have the snow come because it was something to play with. Snow is a form of weather that falls from the sky that you are allowed/suppose to play with. Whenever it rains, you are always told to stay inside and not to play in the puddles (piles of water). Snow gives you the ability to still play outside, as long as you can tolerate the colder temperatures. The type of fun that everyone has experienced, in the past, is lost when the person believes that snow is a nuisance. This type of fun should never leave the person, however unfortunately it does.
There are many people that believe that when snow shows up "Hell on Earth has arrived". These people, in my opinion, are the biggest losers in the world. They think this way because his/her life already sucks in the first place and wants everyone to feel worse than what he/she does. In school these people would be the "snobs" of the school. Now the "snobs" are the annoying nuisance that no wants to listen to. It is rather funny if you think about it, due to the fact that the people that you wanted to be like in school (the cool kids) are the biggest losers in life. The fact behind this is that these are the people that complain that his/her life sucks, and will try to show you how yours sucks too. My opinion for these types of people is to throw them into a snow-bank and force them into a snowball-fight. In theory it will either cause one hell of a war between you and him/her, or it will show him/her that life can be fun again. Either way it would be an interesting experience. I know that when I am around my friends we try to have fun regardless of the weather. If there is snow on the ground, we will have snowball-fights, etc. or if it is just a little cold we will play some ball-hockey. I think my friends enjoy the ball-hockey the most because they put me in net and fire the ball at me. It is interesting to see the amount of fun a person can express after hitting you will a ball like that. It is more interesting if that ball was wet at the time because the ball will hurt through the gear (goalie pads).
As we all get older, we seem to forget the benefits with having winter come. Most people only enjoy having winter come because of the "drinking parties" for Christmas & New Years. After we get to a certain age, those "drinking parties" are useless because most of your friends are either in a nursing home or dead. Most people that look forward to the "drinking parties" are lucky if they don't die before the chance to be in a nursing home. For the parties that are associated with Christmas & New Years, I find it sad that people can be so selfish. These people are just looking for a reason to get drunk with fellow employees, family, or friends. There is always more than one party that you are able to go to; so many people get drunk more than once during the month of December. I can see getting drunk once because that is all that a person should do. To get drunk more than once is just ridiculous for this time of the year. This time of the year is meant for people to be with his/her family & friends. This time of the year means more to those that are religious due to his/her beliefs. I have found that no matter how religious a person is, he/she will still incorporate the giving of presents to others and go to other types of celebrations. I am not religious, however I will not degrade anyone that is religious. A religious belief is just like an opinion, and I know how it feels to have an opinion told to be wrong without discussion. Everyone has his/her different reasons for celebrating at this time of the year. It really doesn't matter the reason, just to be safe when doing so.
As time continues, and time passes by, I seem to realize how good wintertime really is. Many people won't realize this until they have past through too many years (50+ years old). By this point he/she is unable to enjoy it due to his/her age. It is rather unfortunate but it does happen. In my opinion, no one is too old to play in the snow. It may be required for most people to shovel the snow out of the way, however it doesn't cause those people to not enjoy the snow afterwards. When people do too much shoveling of snow (when he/she doesn't have any energy to do anything else), he/she will start to hate winter. When this happens many people seem bitter and unable to enjoy this time of the year. This is sad to see, especially when you can still see the fun parts of winter.
I can honestly say that this winter really sucks. We have had very little snow, however we have had a lot of cold weather. I would prefer to have the snow come because it gives us weather in the single digits +/-, but still the single digits. Having days like today as -21�C with a wind-chill of -36�C is ridiculous. It is not safe for any animals outside, and it is too damn cold to have people in it either. I know of areas that close the schools because of the cold, however people are still forced to go to work. I'm not sure how the cold doesn't apply to the adults of the world, but I do know that the bias is really annoying.
The stuff that annoys me the most is when you are waiting in a lineup at a gas station and the teenagers (have no school because of cold) get $3.45 of fuel and hand the gas station attendant a $20 bill. That is not right because the gas station attendant is doing his/her job, however the teenager doesn't care. The teenager is putting "just enough" fuel in his/her parents' vehicle before it is returned. These people should start to realize that if you have no school because of the cold, you should be sure to respect those that have to work in that same cold.
With the weather as cold as it has been this winter, it is a wonder that there hasn't been too many deaths due to the cold. There have been some deaths due to the cold, however not really as many as you would think with the temperatures so low. It is unfortunate to have people working in the cold weather, and when a "wind-chill warning" is in affect no one should be allowed to work expect the plows. There should be a law that forces people to not work in this cold, and still get paid as if he/she did. Of course that would make the government & society really look at how the weather effects people and we all know that it will never come to that.
There are fun things that a person can do during the winter, however those fun things are put on hold because of the cold weather we have been having. When the temperatures are warmer (single digits), you are still able to do some of the things that you do during the summer. One such thing is to go "roller-blading", if the roads are clear enough. All you need to do is to wear the clothes you would for wintertime (the cold), find a road that is clear (lack of ice/snow & dry), and you are able to do the blading. I have done it once this year, however haven't been able to do it since December.
The sad part is the fact that every year the month of February is the worst part of winter. Since we are having so much cold weather, what does February have in-store for us? Will it be snow, cold, or both snow & cold? We won't know until it comes. With the amount of cold we have had, it would be nice to have the winter weather end early and have spring start early. We all wish for this so that summer can start early, however we all know that it won't happen. We know that winter won't end early because it took so long to start in the first place. Having a green Christmas is just proof enough to say that winter will be here for a long time this year, just like last year.
The sooner that winter ends, the better that many of us will feel. I will be especially happy if the rain that we receive in spring doesn't come when I work, or at least doesn't have a lot of wind to go with it. The two times of the year that I hear the worst things about are winter and spring. I know that the reason behind this is because it is always too cold/wet during those times of the year. Even when it is fall, you don't have the cold/wet that you do during spring. Of course I am a little bias because I work outside, but I receive a lot of bad thoughts about those times of the year from customers. I believe that the reason behind this is because most of the accidents in vehicles happen during those times of the year. With winter you have the ice/snow/slush and with spring you have the rain combining with whatever snow/ice is still around. Hopefully summer comes early this year, and it is soon because this cold is really bothersome.
© COPYRIGHT 2004