Minus 2

This morning as usual I got up, turned on the radio and listened to the entertaining prattle that is morning radio. It is a mix of talk, music and general nonsense that I find I enjoy. That is usually the only time of day I listen to the radio because there is no need to listen to the rest. The radio day is filled with a highly repetitive top 10 list with a random sprinkling of classic hits.

This morning I listened and one thing grabbed my attention. It is something that they do every 15 minutes and I have heard hundreds of times. It was the weather report. The announcer said, “It is currently -3 with a high today of -2.”

A high of -2? That is such an oxymoron of a statement. You think “high” in weather terms and images of balmy beaches and hot sun enter the mind or at least you would hope it would be above 0. I really think they should come up with a different term when the temp is below 0. You hear, “…a high,” and your hopes rise and then you hear “minus” and the rest simply trails off as the cold sinks into your bones.

Don’t ask me what the new term should be. I just don’t know. That is up to meteorologists and forecasters. They have come up with terms like “wind chill factor” and “smog index” so I think this is a task they are well suited for.

And speaking of minus 2, today I was outraged. I went to the grocery store to stock up on food on sale (they are doing this crazy buy-one-get-one-free thing) and I also needed to get a note book for my calculus and I needed a few pens. Usually I don’t buy pens I some how pilfer them from my place of employment, friends or family, or I randomly find them in the couch or under the fridge. But the one pen I have is low on ink and I have been doing a lot of writing so I thought I would pick up a few.

Lucky for me there was a small stationary section in the grocery store that allowed me to pick up these few items without having to make another stop. This made the outing more efficient than originally expected. I picked up 2 Hilroy notebooks and a pack of those classic Bic pens.

Those pens are the best. The design is simple but the product is phenomenal. The ball point is always so smooth and lets you write with easy. They last a long time and they are inexpensive. I don’t care for felt tips. I have no need for it to be a push button. And those little cushy things that keep you from getting a callus are ingenious but they always slide down and you have to stop and adjust every few minutes making them more trouble than they are worth. I didn’t even really look at the package of Bics I just picked it up.

When I got home I went to get out a pen. First thing I noticed was that these pens now had a name and a tag line. “Cristal. Easy glide; feel the smoothness.” The second thing I noticed was there are only 10 pens in a pack. What the…? I have always known these pens to come in packs of 12; 2 red, 2 black, and 8 blue. That is how it has always been and how it always should be. But no, there was only 1 red, 2 black, and 7 blue. Those strange numbers through me off. I know no one but teachers ever used the red pen but still that doesn’t mean I didn’t want it. And what am I going to do when my 7 blue pens run out? Where is the eighth? I hope they found it a good home.

I complained to Cory about this fact and he just didn’t understand. He was fixated on me doing calculus for the heck of it. I didn’t understand what was wrong with that. I had a textbook I wrangled from my father that had been sitting around for a while and I have time (a whole lot of time) and I just decided to pick it up and see what I could do.

I haven’t done calculus in years and it seems I may have forgotten a substantial amount of it. I used to be pretty good at it and this is a way for me to flex my mind as well as bring my skill back up. This weekend I am going to get my math notes to help jog my memory and make sense of the textbook jargon. Then I will totally be getting my calculus on.

Cory thinks I am a total nerd because of this (and many other things) but I don’t think it makes me nerdy at all. If I started playing basketball again that wouldn’t make me nerdy I would just be playing a game or getting fit. But why can’t I do a workout for my mind?

And another thing. What’s the deal with airline food?

No, no I kid. That is all I got. I just felt like complaining today.

Tra