Winter Wander-Land

It never ceases to amaze me how depressing this time of year is. There's a lull right after you lose an hour of daylight and before you gain any holiday cheer that's just downright dreadful. As someone who has been in and out of more winter (and just general) funks than I'd like to admit, the signs that it is just that, a funk, become extremely evident....

--People start convincing themselves that they're alone in the world because they're single, meanwhile the people who are in relationships with anyone but a spouse or fiance desperately want out, but are more often times than not terrified to admit it. I've been on both sides of this dastardly coin, and have found that "the grass is always greener" applies even more readily to the given situation during the winter blues months.

--Everyone seems to be in a trance, just wandering from place-to-place, on autopilot, not really calculating what's going on in the world around them. People make faces like they're sleepy when they've had plenty of shut-eye, and trudge about like everyday of life was preceded by a day in which they took part in a mini-marathon. In reality, the previous day was just like the current one: zoned out waiting for the next "thing" to grab one's fleeting attention.

--Much like the lull that consumes the day, a lull consumes larger periods of time, making it difficult to remember exact dates and events. This is not as bad for football fans, since we can just remember the closest game on the schedule to the even we're thinking about, and most of the time can get in the ballpark timezone-wise.

--Working out....BAHAHAHAHA, good luck. It's tough enough getting out of bed and busting your ass at work or school or commuting somewhere or waiting in line for a damn coffee so you don't go postal on someone along the way. Working out? That's just not going to happen and if it somehow does, it won't be with the same frequency or intensity.

.....There are literally a zillion other tall tale signs that you're in an early winter rut, but I'm going to stop there and look at the picture below...





This picture generally makes me happy during colder months. I really don't know how it wouldn't if you have ever read Calvin and Hobbes in your life. Best comic ever, but that's a blog for another day. Just had to share the cozy pic...

The idea of a "cozy" place isn't too masculine. I don't know why. But I do enjoy coziness, especially in the winter. I'm taking it upon myself to make "cozy" a masculine word.

You will henceforth think of cozy in the same light as you do "steak, guns, lager, football and ikeem."
...okay, maybe not ikeem, but you get my drift. Back to wandering....