Chock full of yams

Yesterday, late afternoon into the entire evening, Storm "Janus" hit NJ and nearby regions. I am agreeable to the naming of hurricanes and tropical storms; the tradition, if one can call it that, goes back to the early 1950s. The naming of snowstorms is another situation though; I just don't feel that it's necessary to turn every meteorological event into some sensationalized news event.

We didn't get too much snow, maybe 4-6 inches. It was the light, powdery snow---easy to shovel. Today, a delayed opening for school turned into a full closing. I had visions of productivity in my mind for ways on how I would spend the day. I didn't have too many lofty goals: reading more in John Green's Paper Towns, going to the gym, and cleaning out my "old" work tote bag and moving everything into my new totebag (probably the task that would take the longest---the "old" tote bag is like a time machine---there's probably papers in there from when we bought the house in 2009).

My day turned into full-on slovenliness. I played Bookworm on the computer, watched Beautiful Girls  on Netflix, and ate yams. Yes, I said it; I ate yams. I've been on this yam kick recently--I've even been eating them raw.

Now, it's 7:30 at night and I basically wasted the day away. The wacky thing is that I feel incredibly exhausted right now. I'm basically tired from doing nothing. My eyes are glazed over from looking at the television, computer screen, and smartphone screens throughout the day's duration.

Even though I am in no mood to do it, I'm off to the gym in a few minutes. They weren't kidding about the cold spell either. I walked outside a few minutes ago and it was dreadfully cold. Maybe I am just getting older, but I don't recall winters being this miserable years ago. It's "biting cold weather" and the meteorologists say it will last for a week or so this time. In the blunt words which I relayed to my co-worker yesterday: I fucking hate snow.

Case of You

We had a workshop today on the topic of argumentative essays; these essays will be a part of next year's PARCC testing. During the workshop, we covered warrants, claims, evidence, and other terms of which I am not familiar. I sat there, boggled, wondering if I had the capacity to teach those skills to 6th graders.

After the workshop, there was only one word to describe how I felt---- downtrodden. Whereas I used to be able to do "fun" things in the classroom, mixed in with the normal formulaic essay instruction in prep for state tests, now I feel like the school district should just hire a robot in place of me. The robot would could be programmed with all of the necessary information to spew out of its monosyllabic mouth; it would not have emotional reactions to what it had to teach or tell children.

After the workshop, I drove home, ate a large amount of pretzels, drank half a beer, and took a nap. The sleep was anything but blissful. I actually probably did not actually fall completely asleep, but instead rested in the dark, hearing cars driving up my street and hearing the sounds of the neglected dog across the street.

A few minutes ago, I listened to Joni Mitchell's song, "Case of You." After the first few verses, I could feel my eyes well up with tears. That kind of crying is sometimes welcomed---it makes us feel human. That kind of crying reminds me of how wonderful simplicity is---good old fashioned emotions. Sometimes I feel like the world around me is filled with utter chaos. Who cares about big screen televisions, "On Demand" channels, or social media statuses?

I went to college because I thought that it was the "right" thing to do. You go to college, you work hard, and then you get a "good" job (however you want to define that). That's just what you do; I don't really know why.

It's 12 years later and I have a "good job," a house, and a mortgage--all the things of which the American dream consists. Sometimes I have a secret wish that the house burn down. I think back to when we lived in the apartment. We had extra income, although we didn't take advantage of it. We should have traveled to exotic places. The extra cash just sat in the bank account.

Meanwhile, my sister has, on a whim, lived in Florida. She then got tired of Florida and moved to St. Thomas. The sun brightly greets her on a daily basis. She works enough to have money to do fun things and that's how she lives her life. When we were younger, I think that people thought she would be a "loser" or a "lost soul." I feel that I, instead, am the lost, stuck soul. There has to be more to life than a tattered mattress in need of repair, cracked sidewalks, and windows that don't open. 

Winter Job Opportunities for Contractors

It's a well-known fact that contractors get significantly less business during the winter (in terms of home repair and construction). It's cold and the weather is unpredictable; people just want to stay inside and wait until spring to get home repairs completed. Then, the contractors are basically stumbling over jobs. In short, a contractor's winter lack lucrative opportunities.

It's also a well-known fact that gym memberships skyrocket after New Year's Day. A recent article pinpointed one gym company, Strait Fitness, which gets 15% of its total annual memberships via post-New Year's Day: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/new-years-resolutions-boost-gym-memberships

A common resolution is to "lose those last ten pounds." It's a resolution that is much easier said than done. Furthermore, if someone has gained weight over the holidays, the weight loss goal should really be 10+ whatever was gained.

In addition to joining gyms, January is the time of the year where you have to hear all about pitas, flat breads, "low carbing" it, Greek yogurt, and other seemingly miraculous wonder-foods. A lot of it is processed shit anyway. I say that the way to eat is to be able to state the ingredients, point blank, of your meals. For instance, I had yams, green beans, chicken, carrots, and olive oil for dinner. Easy enough to say. I also had enriched flour, water, malt, canola oil, salt, yeast, and soda...otherwise known as pretzels.

According to another article, about 33% of all resolutions are broken by the end of January and 80% are broken overall. Okay, that was not really from an article, but rather it was from wikianswers. Anyway, we all know that resolutions rarely turn into permanent habits.

My great idea is for contractors, during winter months, to open gyms targeted at the people who make gym membership their New Year's resolution. The contractors could make loads of money for three months. By the end of March, membership would have dwindled, but it would not matter since the end of March is likely the beginning of "contractor season." The Resolutions Fitness Centers would be a winter job gig for the contractors. 

This idea came to my mind because the gym was so crazily packed today. I had to deal with limited access to treadmills; meanwhile, some girl was walking at a 2.0 mph pace. 2.0?!?!?! I don't care if you're a contestant on Biggest Loser; you can do better than a 2.0mph pace--that's a 30 minute mile! You might as well cut down on the snacking and just sit on your ass at home instead.

Resolution Fitness Center....I think it could work.