Sunday, January 21, 2007

In Like a Lion. Well, a very late, possibly cause he left the house and then thought that maybe he left the oven on, so he went back to check Lion.

What's next? I'll tell you what's next, Winter. That's what's next.
So after many delays and countless false starts, it appears that Old Man Winter is finally here. Stupid old man. Who needs him any ways.
I can still remember when I actually anticipated Winter. Starting sometime in late October, I'd wake up each morning, run to my window and look outside hoping to see the first frosting of that pure white wintery bliss, snow. Back then snow meant many things, GT snow-racing (for those of you not in the know, this is by far the greatest toboggan ever created by man kind), skiing...downhill and cross-country (yes, back then even cross-country skiing was considered fun, now it's just regarded as a truly sadistic form of torture reserved for tourists and boring people), road hockey in our driveway without the possibility of getting a friggin' stone in the eye every time you shot the ball, making snow forts, snow men, snow balls....well you get the picture. Snow was actually useful at one time. It meant fun and excitement. Now it just means cold, scrapping the windows on the car and longer waits in traffic as everyone somehow forgets how to drive just because there is a light frosting of snow on the road. Toronto is the worst for this of course. See, coming from Northern Ontario, I've actually seen what a real snow storm looks like. Down here in the South all we ever get is a few sprinkles of snow and the whole fucking city implodes. In fact, back in the Winter of '99 I think it was, the Mayor actually called in the National Guard to come dig out the city. It was horribly embarrassing. The rest of Canada, who already hold a deep resentment towards the "Big Smoke" and look for any reason to scoff at us, just laughed and pointed fingers. We were the sissies, the wimps, the big city pampered princesses. And I don't blame them, it was over reacting to the nth degree. But I digress.
My point is, snow, which was once a bringer of joy and happiness to my young heart, has now become nothing but a nuisance that I'd rather not deal with.
The only thing that I still look forward to when the snow flies, just like I did when I was a young lad, is listening to the radio or watching CP24 to see what roads have been closed, what buses have been canceled and what other cancellations are happening around the city. Yes, much like Hockey Day in Canada, I'm referring to another great Canadian "holiday", the Snow Day!
The Snow Day may not be uniquely Canadian, but it's something that every Canadian holds dear to their heart. That anticipation you'd have going to bed knowing that there was an impending storm due to hit that night, touted to be the biggest storm to hit town in recent memory you'd hit the pillow with visions of missing school and racing down the hill on your GT snow racer.
Those visions might have changed now that I'm older, instead of tobogganing I think about sleeping in and watching daytime television all day, but the anticipation I have is still there.
Sure I'm a grown man and I can decide whether or not I want to go to work on any given day, but when there is a snow day it's a guilt free, no hassle way of sticking it to the man.
And that's exactly what I did on Monday. It was a friggin' Snow Day man and I took full advantage of that day off. This meant ass on couch, feet up, socks off and lots of mindless TV. It may not have been like the Snow Days of yore and I may not have even gone out and romped around in the white stuff, but it sure was exactly what I went to bed dreaming of the night before.
So what's next?

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