things happening

[low_delta]

Tonight we watched "The Trouble with Tribbles" (Star Trek) and "Trials and Tribble-ations" (Deep Space Nine). Both are fun episodes.

Last night we went to Cyn's company's holiday party, where the theme was plaid tidings. Naturally, I wore the kilt. We won a prize. $10 to the theater. It's been bitterly cold - a regular polar vortex. Fortunately, it was above zero for the long walk to the restaurant. One guy told me he didn't wear his kilt because it was so cold. Wimp. The CEO said he had his assistant looking for a kilt, but they couldn't find one in time.

The temp is rising now, since there's a snowstorm happening. First time it's been above 10° in a couple of days. Unseasonable cold temperatures. More snow than usual for December, too. My dad's and stepmom's family Xmas party was supposed to be tomorrow, but they postponed it due to the snow. We were supposed to get seven to ten inches between 2:00 this afternoon, and late evening tomorrow. But it didn't start until around 4:00, and now the forecast says "occasional snow to end at 3 am." So much for that storm.

It snowed last weekend too. We got about 5 inches of light fluffy snow. Other areas got that much, but it wasn't light. The weekend before that, we got an inch or a little more. Not sure what's up with December weekends and snow this year.

Wednesday night, I went out to my dad's with some whisky. We had small tastes of 18-year Glentauchers, 52-year Lochside (single grain), 20y Braeval, 16y Balvenie Triple Cask, 21y Bruichladdich Octave, 25y Ardmore, and 7y Talisker. That's 159 years of whisky!

Tuesday I was home, I think.

Monday was the St. Andrew's meeting, whereafter we had a Christmasy sort of get-together. One member proclaimed loudly that this is a Christian nation that was founded as a Christian nation and you damn well better say "Merry Christmas" and if you don't like it you can go back where you came from. Idiot asshole.

The kid who works with me can't get over how I can drive a Mustang in the winter. He's sure I'm going to kill myself. Or that I have to drive really slow and can't get anywhere. I told him I put 80 pounds of sand in the trunk, and he said that hurts my gas mileage. His Ford Escape has 4wd and is supposed to get about the same mileage as mine.

Comments

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

You're no wimp, Kevin! :D But maybe you need a pair of warm tights if you ever wear the kilt in such cold temps again.

I honestly don't know what I would have done after that idiot's proclamation at the St. Andrew's meeting. I might have proclaimed loudly that we're a nation of immigrants and maybe he should go back to um, Scotland, I presume? And that the colonies may have been founded as remnants of a Christian nation (Britain) but that the nation was founded on the basis of religious freedom and tolerance. However, knowing me, I would have been too angry to say that without tears, which tend to interfere with the message itself, dammit.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

The kilt hose (heavy wool stockings) kept my lower legs warm. The kilt itself is fairly heavy wool, so my upper legs are usually ok, if there's no wind. But there was wind. It's usually only my knees that are exposed, and they don't have much feeling anyway. :-) And no, there's no way I could get away with showing tights. I might as well be wearing a skirt, to everyone else!

Considering there's nothing I could say to convince him he was wrong, I'd rather just keep the peace.

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't try to convince that guy he's wrong but might not be able to suppress expressing my own opinion (as he obviously couldn't). Maybe I'd say something like: As someone who values American diversity, I'm insulted by your outburst. That would be better than: As an agnostic of Jewish descent and proud life member of Freedom From Religion Foundation, I'm insulted by your outburst and if you don't like that I don't say "Merry Christmas" you can go back to Scotland. Or maybe I should just carry the icon sign around with me and wave it during such appropriate moments. :P

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

My FB presence is minimal, but my brother added me to the group Pantsuit Nation (which is very active). Here's a post from today: "You can't take me anywhere. 😂

So I was at Target, checking out and the cashier says Happy Holidays to the customer in front of me. The guy behind me says, to me, because apparently I'm the general public's friend, "I'm so sick of this Happy Holidays shit." And I said "I'm so sick of people bitching about Happy Holidays, it's not a big deal." He said, "Christmas is about Christ."

It felt like the whole store got quiet.

I said, "well, I'm an atheist that celebrates Christmas and this is Target where people that celebrate all the winter holidays come, and Target doesn't want to piss off people of different faiths, because they don't KNOW you. So Happy Holidays is simply an attempt to say have a nice day celebrating whatever you celebrate"

Everyone around me clapped.

He said "Well I still think they should say Merry Christmas". I said "No. YOU say Merry Christmas. Target told her to say Happy Holidays. Let her do her job."

People clapped again and then more people started speaking up and saying it wasn't a big deal. As I left I looked at the guy, then the clerk and said Merry Christmas. And she said Happy Holidays.

Don't be afraid to speak up."

[mummm.livejournal.com]

People like that guy are idiotic, pretend Christians. Plus that, he's completely uneducated about the origins of our nation... but, of course, completely convinced he is right and everyone else is wrong. I can't stand people like that. I'm guessing he probably also voted for T-rump...

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

He's definitely a Trump backer.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

Couldn't be anything but...

[cynnerth.livejournal.com]

There's another 1-3 inches coming this afternoon, and then that'll be all.

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

At a christmas party? What a jerk. I think people who loudly proclaim THEIR ideals in situations like that are just looking for a captive audience. And that says a great deal about some of their self issues.

What am I missing about mustangs? Are they not cars like all other cars...

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I didn't hear the beginning of it, but I think he started the diatribe when someone wished him happy holidays.

The Mustang is rear wheel drive, so it has a bit of trouble with traction. And the tires are wide, which makes things worse. So I keep the sandbags in the trunk, and a full tank of gas if it's going to snow. It handles noticeably better with a passenger in the car. But I've been driving rear wheel drive cars forever, so I know what I'm doing. I prefer them because when you do lose traction, you can control the car better.

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

I am always surprised when someone expresses the opinion that this or that motorized vehicle CAN NOT be driven in this or that condition. I learned to drive (the first time) in a '69 cougar (a muscle car at the time) in ALASKA. After I moved back down to the states and aged enough to qualify for a DL down here, I drove everything from a pinto to a 3 ton truck, and many in poor condition. Each vehicle was drivable in every condition, as long as you paid attention to the vehicle. It seems to me that is operator driven, not vehicle driven.

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

Well said!

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

In his defense, the kid is very emotional. He's got a big grin and a hearty laugh, and goes, "NO WAY!!" a lot. And when I push him on the subject that I can manage just fine, he brings up the downsides, like, sure, but wouldn't it just be easier to have a 4wd?

He lives right in the middle of Milwaukee, about 25-30 minutes away. During the last snowstorm I was near his house. He was like No way! How did you do that? You're crazy! Did it take you an hour to get home? No, I passed every single car on the freeway on my way home...

I agree with you, though. I want to get patronizing with him, and say, "it's good that you have 4WD. You couldn't handle RWD like I can." He'd probably agree with me. :-)

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Go you for wearing the kilt on a cold and windy day!
:)
You're no wimp!

Sigh. We get idiots here that proclaim their stupidity in public also. The thing is that Spain was an *officially* Catholic country for so long during various periods in history and most recently under Franco's dictatorship but in the last 40 years it hasn't been and has become a plural society in all senses but there are still people around who say garbage like that.
It's a good thing that Spaniards are pretty tolerant people in general but you always get the assholes anywhere you go.

It's just at a very scary stage in the US right now.