The Sky is Falling...

So I had to take a 1/2 sick day today from work because I had to visit the ole' dermatologist to get some routine blood work... I'm on month three of my "adventure" into Accutane. For those of you that don't know, being on Accutane means a monthly visit to the doctor for blood work and computerized tests about birth control methods.

The good news is that my complexion has never looked better. The bad news is that I'm starting to feel like a pin cushion.

But talking about skin and taking a half day is not the reason I'm blogging. I wanted to warn everyone, in case nobody has had the common courtesy to let you know, that the sky is falling.  (Consequently, I'm glad to have left early because, frankly, I'm tired of hearing about it).

But for those of you not in the WRAL viewing area...

Almost all 100 counties contained inside the great state of North Carolina are under some sort of Winter Weather Alert and people are losing their minds.  I'm suprised that people are not looting the streets in search of rock salt and batteries... it's that bad.

On Wednesday, after my faculty meeting, I decided to stop by the grocery store. We were running low on Ginger Ale and orange juice and I needed some more of that yogurt with the probiotics in it-- so I stopped in at the local grocery store in town, not thinking about the horrible "Winter Weather Alert" that WRAL had cast upon us (for FRIDAY NIGHT). The breads section was over run and ran-sacked. Apparently bread will somehow sustain life in the event of a possible snow storm. The only thing left was the wheat bread-- which is fine, because that's what I like.  And while checking out in the store hushed, reverent tones could be heard streaming out of locals talking about the impending doom that lay days before us.

Yesterday at work my principal made some comment in the office to our receptionists about how the weatherman was calling for 10 to 12 inches of snow with a layer of ice on top that will be at least an inch and a half thick. Panic ensued.

At afternoon carpool duty, later that day, a mom announced that she had heard that we would have at least three solid inches of ice and we'd be without power for at least a week. Again, panic ensued.

This morning, as I made my way out to morning carpool duty, I heard a co-worker say that, "we might as well get our shorts and flip-flops out, because we were going to have Spring Break next week."  Meaning, we'd end up having to make up all these "snow" days that haven't even happened yet during our planned Spring Break.

The "wintery mix" will not start until sometime tonight (Friday). I've heard it could start as early as six o'clock and I've heard as late as 12 o'clock. "They" expect a "wintery mix" until sometime tomorrow afternoon. And! "They" are saying that "it" is going to "stick" around for a while because it's so cold outside... even though it was 61 degrees yesterday.

I'm a little bit annoyed.  First of all, I hate snow and I probably hate whatever "they" are calling "wintery mix" with a passion.  Snow is dangerous.  I one time got stranded in the snow trying to escape the possibility of being trapped in my apartment with a horrible college roommate during a snowstorm.  Secondly, I hate how crazy the possbility of snow makes everyone.  You would think that the sky is about to rain down lethal doses of radiation or something equally as horrible.  Although I don't like the snow, let's please get a grip.  We can't control the weather anymore than we can control my crazy redneck neighbor, who at this very moment is probably at the grocery store buying a boat load of bread and beer, because "that's what you do when it snows."

My sister works in a nursing home as a social worker.  She says when an old person starts acting "a little crazy" the nurses automatically test to see if the old person has a UTI, because, for whatever reason, a UTI makes old people go a little nuts.  I feel like everyone around me is an elderly person with a bladder infection.

I think that "they" are calling for a few inches of snow-- and probably a little bit of ice.  I'm not sure if it is going to be bad or if people are just in an uproar because they issued this "Winter Weather Alert" three days out.  What I do know is that I hope that the weather people are wrong.  Seeing some snow might be nice, especially on a weekend-- since it won't mess with school.  However, seeing some ice or a lot of ice is scary because that means power outages, most likely.  And I don't know about you, but I like TV, and the computer... and my hair dryer.

So consider yourself warned-- the Sky is Falling-- tonight.