Today is National Puppy Day. Pretty much every day is puppy day at my house, but it’s nice to see the rest of the country celebrate. And if there’s one thing we really need more of these days around here, it’s puppies. So don’t forget to hug your puppy(s) today, and if you don’t have a puppy, go hug somebody else’s (unless you’re famous like Trump, you should probably ask first).

After three feet or whatever it was of snow last week, we actually had a couple of decent days, weather-wise. Not exactly balmy, but after a cold and crappy start to official spring, it was kind of sunny one day there, and I think it may have actually gotten close to 40. In a fit of uncharacteristic optimism, I ordered pool-opening chemicals. So now I’m all ready to go.

As punishment, and in light (or in spite) of the (know what I mean) vernal equinox, the weather turned to shit once again, and got really fucking cold. As cold as it was yesterday, it was even colder this morning – down into the single digits as we began our trek to work.

On the bright side (literally), it’s a clear, sunny day out there today. I know, because I walked a scant five yards or so near a window. And they say it’s gonna get all the way up to 35 degrees (above) today. So that’s nice. And even warmer, tomorrow – which would also be nice if it didn’t mean it was going to get rainy. After we start out with ice pellets, of course.

So since tomorrow is take public transportation home day, it means I should be able to enjoy a refreshing trek to the transportation “hub” in a 40’ish degree driving rain. I only hope it’s really windy, too, as that would be the epitome of springtime for Syracuse (and Germany).

Speaking of puppies, I have to take one of mine to the vet on Saturday. Nothing bad – just her annual checkup and vaccinations, which will be traumatic enough. If not for her, then definitely for me. I would honestly rather take myself to the doctor (or dentist, even) than take the varmints to the vet. And that’s saying a lot, because one thing I definitely am not is a doctor person.

This year, at least, I have them spread out one per month. This is Peggy’s month, next month is Bud (who is definitely the biggest pain in the ass), and then finally it’s Fritzi in May. I’ll be glad to get it over, but it sure makes it hard to look forward to the weekend.

Happy SPD to all you saints and all you Patricks out there (never met anybody who was both a saint and a Patrick, but I suppose it’s possible). It’s actually sunny in these parts today – and they say it’ll actually get above freezing (all the way to 35!). I’ll believe it when I see it. Friday and Saint Patrick’s Day…. Just doesn’t seem the same without beer.

As we wait to see if we’ll be buried in snow today (still very much dependent on which way the wind blows), we’re all celebrating Pi Day. I have, I think, 5 Raspberry Pis (that looks too much like raspberry piss, which I think would scare the raspberry shit out of me), none of which are currently doing more than collecting dust. I got the most recent on last Pi day, when it was on sale for $3.14. At one point, I had two acting as media (mostly video) clients and one hooked up to my workshop stereo as a music client. They’ve all been replaced by better (and by better, I of course mean “more expensive”) solutions at this point. One of these days I’ll find a project for them (I saw one where a guy used it with a camera module to remotely pilot a Roomba – if I can do that, much fun will be had chasing the dogs and cat around).

Last night, our beloved Governor issued a statement saying all “non-essential” state workers could stay home (and off the roads) today without having to charge their time accruals. I’m not sure what makes this storm so much worse than what we refer to up here as “winter” but it was a nice gesture. As I was contemplating that announcement (it was on the news – not like anybody had officially notified us), a clarification came from one of our “C” people – basically saying we are ALL considered essential (which of course made me feel very important) and we should get our asses into work. Though it said certain departments would have their own discretion. OK, well, that was clear as mud.

Then my boss’ boss sent us an e-mail saying, basically, that our safety was the most important thing and if we didn’t feel safe driving in, we shouldn’t. Note to managers and supervisors everywhere – if you want to get the most out of the folks who work for you, this is the way to treat them.

So, seeing as things really didn’t seem bad this morning, I figured I’d go ahead and go to work. I mean, we had some really horrible commutes this year and nobody seemed to care. But then I saw a revised snow map, and then they closed the schools, and then my boss e-mailed us and said, basically, “hey, just work from home today.”

Well, OK. You only have to twist my arm so much. And this way I can make sure the driveway’s plowed out so the wife can get in (‘cuz her work doesn’t much give a shit about her safety or even how many hours she works – for free).

The real problem with this storm is that whatever snow we get will be wet and heavy. That and strong winds make it difficult to plow – and can take down power lines and trees. Fortunately the leaves aren’t out yet, so hopefully we’re good there.

I just hope this is the last of the shitty weather for this year. I could use a nice, warm, sunny spring and summer (and fall).

Wednesday was a sad, sad day for my home office/man cave/tap room. I removed the beer taps and beer/CO₂ lines from my kegerator so I could use it as a refrigerator (‘cuz, like, one fridge isn’t enough) instead of just an empty storage cabinet/induction burner cooking surface. Although it hadn’t been turned on (let alone used for beer) in over six months, it was still a personally depressing moment for me. But it’s all worth it, because I feel so great now.

Except, not so much. Whether it was all the up and down (the stairs, getting tools and whatnot – nothing unseemly or fun or anything) or something else, I apparently triggered one of the worst gout flareups I’ve ever had. Not that I’m sure about the gout part, but pretty sure. For a while now, I’ve been trying to get more exercise, get myself in shape (nothing major – just trying to stave off death a bit), all that kinda stuff. I even got a fitness tracker thingie about six weeks or so. So I started getting about 7 miles a day walking in, 30 minutes on the rowing machine, and over 50 flights of stairs (up, that is). My resting heart rate was down to 54 (below my age – not bad for an old guy).

I’ve long had some issues with my feet/ankles, etc., and so it wasn’t surprising to me that I had some stiffness in my feet – and more specifically, soreness in my left Achilles tendon. The soreness got worse, and, to make a sad story short, I got to the point where I could barely walk. So much for all my heart-healthy progress.

Things came to head (or foot) on Wednesday night. My foot swelled up like a balloon, I couldn’t sleep, and there was no way I could put a sock on it Thursday, let alone go to work. So, anyway, here it is Sunday, and things aren’t great, but they’re better. I’ve basically immobilized myself, iced my foot and ankle down (the pain, redness, and swelling keeps moving around in a very gout-like manner), and have been living on Ibuprofen.

So, to recap: lose weight, BP good, quit drinking beer, don’t eat anything “bad” (frankly, don’t eat much of anything), get exercise. Result: severe crippling pain.

Seems fair.

At least the weather’s been great. Great, as in, frigid – single-digit temps, double-digit winds and snow. But at least it hasn’t been a lot of snow, right? Yeah, did I mention there’s a Nor’easter coming? Yeah, supposed to get a foot of snow starting tomorrow night. So that’s great. And to think, I had visions of opening up the pool a week or two ago when it was like 77 degrees.

You know, I hate to be a whiner or think of myself as a victim, but WTF?

On the bright side, I have a six-month checkup on Wednesday morning. So maybe there’s something the doc can do for me.

There’s a first time for everything.

March 1^st – the time when we here in the Great White North kid ourselves into thinking we see a light at the end of the tunnel of winter that isn’t an oncoming snowplow. Of course deep down we know better, which is to say we don’t know anything at all. It’s not unheard of for it to be warm and sunny in March. Or it could (more likely) be cold, snowy and crappy. What the krauts call Scheißwetter (and they know their shitty weather over there). There’s a lot of rain and gray skies on both sides in my heritage – it’s no wonder I feel so at home here in Upstate NY and can’t figure why outsiders seem to think it sucks so bad (Syracuse – come for the lousy weather, stay for the abject poverty and urban decay!).

This year, though, hasn’t been bad. I mean, sure, we’ve had over 8.5 feet of snow (so far), but that’s only three inches or so more than usual. If we’re not setting any records, then we’re not struggling. And really when we’ve gotten snow it’s mostly melted pretty fast – the sump pumps have been working overtime this year.

Last Thursday and Friday we were up into the 70s (I was walking around in shirt sleeves, which if you live where it’s warm most of the year you can’t fully appreciate). Sure, it got shitty for the weekend and snowed, but today it’s supposed to get into the mid 60s (and turn to shit for the weekend once again, with temps down to the lower teens). So, you know, we take what we can get. And we know no matter how bad things get, they can’t last more than another month or two.

If only we could say the same thing about our disgrace of a president, whose administration will be casting a shadow over the country (if not the world) for a long time to come, I think. If the Russian Bear sees his shadow next Tuesday, it’s another 8 years of Drumpf.

On the bright side, from what I understand he addressed Congress last night, and was very presidential. So that’s good.

I saw that he said “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”

I liken that to Dubya and his posse declaring that nobody could have know that Osama bin Laden was determined to attack the United States.

Which, come to think of it, should give us all one more thing to think about while Dumbass is running the show.

But, hey, it’s almost spring, so that’s cool.