If It's Too Cold, Why Did You Go Skiing?

Is it right to complain when you knew exactly what you were getting yourself into?  What I mean is, if the situation was clear to you before it began, and you had a choice, don't you forfeit any right to whine and moan?

Last week I took a bus trip to go skiing.  Everyone chose to go on the trip and paid their money.  At the same time, some people cancelled at the last minute, but were not chastised in any way, or even charged money for the trip.  Almost all of them (I would guess that in fact it was each and every one of them, but I didn't bother taking survey) had a smart phone--certainly all of them had access to a television.  So when the weather report was forecasting a somewhat cold temperature (minus 17 I think) it wasn't really out of the blue.

None of this would have mattered if it didn't change the rules.  What it did was shorten the trip by one hour before it even begun.  Fearing the cold, despite wearing some rather expensive thermal gear, many people grumbled and got the trip ending changed.  Of course this was decided before anyone got on the slopes or even tried to cope with the cold.

Had I not wanted to ski, or fallen, or been having a miserable day, I wouldn't have tried to get everyone to leave early.  I would have gone to the lodge to stay warm and waited.  If I had felt I was too cold, I would have either not gone on the trip, or waited in the warm lounge.  At the very least I would have set a midday meeting before making any of these decisions.

As it was, most of the people who lobbied for early release arrived late for the bus.  I guess they were enjoying themselves skiing, despite the cold.

Tales of the Lazy

 

 

What if technology is too smart for someone's brain?  Today's smartphones put all kinds of information within easy reach, but does that matter if you don't reach for it.  That old question of whether a tree falling in the forest makes any sound if there is no one to hear it kind of applies.  Having all the information has no effect if you don't ask the question.

Several of my students confided in me recently that they wouldn't have come here (Canada) to study if they had known what the weather was going to be like.  (Of course, we were working on third conditional sentences, so perhaps they were just making a joke....perhaps....honestly, their facial expressions conveyed that there was some truth to their sentences--but I digress)  Several students did, in fact, make this assertion.  This is nothing new to me because I hear it every year.  However, I paused to reflect because every single student has a smartphone.  Every student can find obscure bits of trivia rather quickly.  My only question was, why didn't they know about the weather?

When I went abroad, now almost twenty years ago, I was armed only with a Lonely Planet guidebook, a look at an atlas and a few pamphlets from the Japanese Consulate (which contained some fabulously out of date photos even then--imagine how old they look now) I didn't have the opportunity to look up anything on the internet.  I read that book (and those brochures) cover to cover.  The truth is, nothing can compare to being there, but I did the best I could.  The funny thing is, I think I was better prepared than my students, who seem surprised at so many things.

I keep forgetting to ask them how they prepared for their trip.  Maybe I am afraid that they will answer honestly, that is to say, they really didn't prepare.  I am reaching that conclusion on my own anyway.  They can find every variation of the Harlem Shake known to man, but couldn't find out that it snows in Canada in the winter?  Seems too unbelievable to be true.  Sadly, it is. 

If I had to guess, they probably don't look up anything until it is staring them in the face.  I have this image of my students landing at the airport, and then having to enter the following words in the search box.  "Toronto, white stuff on ground, cold" and seeing what Google tells them.  You'd think that some of that might have come up when packing.

If I have said it once, I've said it a thousand times.  Smartphones, don't make smart people.

Winter

 

As if I didn't need another reminder that winter is coming.  The gigantic pile of leaves that I have to rake up should be enough.  Rather than let us think we have some time left before we are waist deep in the white stuff, the flyers for the local stores have to remind me that winter, and the need to shovel all that snow out of the way is nearly upon us.

When I look through the flyers, anticipating some great sale, or some knowledge of a new and wonderful product that will change my life (sadly, neither of those two things ever happen) the last thing I want to come across is a page full of snow shovels, snow blowers, car scrapers and ice melting salt.

Had I come across a more positive winter image (think Santa Clause, or a snowman, or maybe some reindeer) I would still be a little underwhelmed.  Coming across such a bold slap in the face, winter is almost here, advertisement really doesn't sit well with me.  Couldn't we just cancel winter this year, just this once?