Comet.
Recovery from a strange dream that wasn't scary (none of them ever are) and not really disturbing took the better part of the morning. And by better part I mean the 1+ hour for
- getting out of bed
- hygiene
- breakfast
- clothes - all the usual + extra layers vs wind and water
And it's out the door, finally. The sun is nowhere and the day looks bleak. Streets are covered in slushy, filthy gray and road salt islets. It's snowing tiny grains. I made it to work without incident - no riding into pedestrians whose sense of space and time have left them, peds who think walking into the bike lane (with bikes on it!) on a bad weather day is a good idea? None spotted.
Shift also without incident ...almost. Near the end one of the lifers tells me what's up. A beloved comrade who has risen through the ranks to become Supervisor, someone capable, reliable, and in this line of work - possessed of genuine good cheer - is leaving our sad and sorry lot. Reassigned to other site. This bit of intel wouldn't normally ding my adamantium shell. But the kicker does: An idiot who grins all day and does shit is getting promoted to super. It just demoralises everyone.
It spits in the face of everyone who works hard to make sense of all this crap, of people who have hour+ long commutes to make it to a shift that's fraught with all manner of grief, to have this nondeserving bastard promoted. Just because he's related to someone in the ups. Yes, nepotism. I do understand how the world works - but I don't have to pretend to like it.
After shaking hands for the last time with our now-erstwhile supervisor it hits me. The day is long. It's cold. It's wet. The ride home demanded attention: Ice on roads due to freezing rain, then patches of "black ice" and whatever else out there poses a threat to the stability and safety of winter cyclists. Jesus. If you see a car (relatively stable with four wheels, ABS fancy brake systems and all) spinning out of control, you can just imagine what a flimsy two-wheeled human-propelled craft has to go through.
But we'll have none of that. After getting home and out of day clothes/layers I catch my breath and put on night clothes/layers and (back on the bike!) head to shops to get essentials. I'm glad one of my faves has restocked on a particular comfort food item. It's been months since, so I go crazy eyed and pile stuff on. Lots of Indian food. Indian mango drink! Why not! So what if it's sugartrap? Live a little. They're promoting sans skill idiots to rank. Idiots who will cause many many mistakes that require many many people to tear their hair out. Life is short! Go get that sugartastic mango drink.
I'm already eddie, rarin' to go ride farther and longer into the cold, you could slip and seriously hurt yourself on black ice night. I've enough smart layers and smart gear on to survive hours outdoors in single digit winter. But with the bike loaded with bags of food I very carefully, very slowly, trace the path back home and shake the salt and slush off everything, hang up my bike in the communal storage. And get ready to prepare supper. I never say this: But tonight I think we're gonna need a funny movie. Push back the sad and angry and bring on something that's the opposite. Why worry about lackwits and bullshit if you haven't been consulted about it? Exactly. Let someone else worry about impending catastrophe.
Not sure I have anything that's [comedy] as most people consider it - but that won't stop me from trying. And now, if you'll excuse me, there's some Indian food waiting for me and my I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. Except, of course, I've been vegetarian for more than a year now. Nevermind. Which movie?