Snowmelt and Cynicism

The snow is beginning to melt.

Oh, you can't really see it at first. When starting with feet of snow, it certainly doesn't all go away with a few days of above-zero temperatures. Still, for those of us who have been here for the whole season and seen the white stuff pile up, it becomes like that squeak in the fourth step to the basement: you try to avoid it but it's basically inevitable, so you just put up with it, and soon it's hardly noticeable. But were it to be quieter, or go away completely, and you would know immediately. Walking on the 10 inches of ice compacted on the sidewalks of Timber Ridge (my crappy apartment complex) I see a definite reduction in the snow settled off to the side. Exciting.

I find that I have trouble hiding my contempt for ideas, jobs, or people that I find pointless, offensive, or unproductive. I always hated busywork in school, and I don't tolerate well people I sense are inept or just stupid. This is a major character flaw I know I have, as anyone who knows me well has probably been "privileged" to experience at least once. I guess it's something I should work on improving, but anyone who knows me will also know that it's about as likely as my sprouting a third arm. I just mean that I'm lazy and not terribly effective when it comes to self improvement.
I say this only to raise the point that Vail is full of these sorts of ideas, jobs, and people. Case in point: the other day after shutting down a lift, my team leader decided we should move a ginormous pile of snow for purely aesthetic reasons. Now I understand that it's part of my job, but it just didn't settle well on my Importance to Life Scale. My cynical side is steadily growing and consuming any optimism I may have harbored, so just as fair warning to any loved ones, I'll probably hate just about everything when I see you again. Please just remember I still like you.