I hate it when I want to write a blog but I don’t know what I want to write about. I just end up rambling about random stuff, so be prepared; that’s what you’re getting today.

The other day I wrote to complain about referees and their bad calls. I could write today about weathermen and their forecasts. I’m a Chris Bailey fan when it comes to weather forecasting, though he gets overly excited about snow. I usually check my weather online, using his blog, the National Weather Service site, and the Weather Channel site. When I went to bed, after 11 P.M., it had started to snow. At that time, Chris Bailey was the only one of the three that indicated significant snow for my area, and he was predicting 1-4 inches. Both the other sites were predicting up to a half-inch. The NWS had issued a hazardous weather outlook, and that indicated possibly up to an inch. By the time it stopped snowing mid-morning today, we had between three and four inches of snow. For tomorrow, Chris Bailey has my area in a 1-3 inch first call for snow forecast. Neither of the other two sites are saying anything about that. Right now, all they’re indicating is a possibility of rain changing to snow, but nothing is being mentioned about possible accumulations. I just wonder if everybody is looking at the same models, why the forecasts are often so far apart. Sometimes, at the last minute, everybody ends up on the same page, but if it’s the same models making the forecasts, why aren’t they on the same page from the beginning?

I am getting tired of forecasts that involve snow, though. We’ve missed 19 days of school, and we’re now into June for the last day of school. The thing is we can’t go too much further or it’ll start interfering with scheduled vacations, and the thing about scheduled vacations is that they’re scheduled early for a variety of reasons: to get the best rates/deals, to make sure everybody going can get the same week(s) cleared at work, and to avoid other conflicts throughout the summer. Once they’re scheduled, rescheduling can be either a headache or impossible. If others who have scheduled to be off work can’t change their time off, then you’re just left with the options of canceling and not taking a vacation at all or going anyway. Neither is an optimal option, but the big problem with canceling is that you may end up losing money on tickets already purchased or reservations already made. 

It is what it is, though. That’s the thing about this ride called life. There are many things you can’t control. It’s easy to get bent out of shape about those things, but it’s pointless to do so. And I say that knowing that I am at times hypocritical and get bent out of shape about things I can’t control. I do, however, try to get a grip as soon as possible. Sometimes we just have to take what we get, such as in the crazy weather we’ve had this winter. We just have to make plans based on the information we have at the time, and as things change, make adjustments as necessary, doing what is in our best interests. What that is will vary for each of us, but that’s OK. Life’s too short as it is to stress about everything you can’t control.