Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Seussing It Out: When All You Can Do Is Sit Sit Sit Sit

Shutter the windows, pull out the pen
We've set the record, this blizzard of two thousand and ten.

A line of cars on my street...

The novelty’s worn off, brutality has set in. While it’s cool that I know where I was when DC set the all-time record (noted since 1899) for amount of snow fallen (in terms of days, and winters), I’d really like to breathe fresh air tomorrow. After watching our second storm wipe out all signs of life for the morning, I turned off my alarm last night and was only awakened when the 35 mile an hour winds started pounding ice against my windows. It was eerie, no sound other than the snow falling resonating in the city that has so much noise that my sensitive ears pick up everything.

Not a sound stirred, not even the proverbial (or potential) mouse—this is apartment living after all, anything’s possible. But something I never thought I’d NOT see was across the street. Today’s “white out” was like nothing I’ve experienced. It took snowplows off the roads early and left us to stay in and wait. I’m lucky in that I had work to do and calls to join, but it reminded me of how much I love being able to walk, to work out and run and, well…do anything.

That said, work was fun and so was this, my homage to Dr. Seuss today, because when snowed in, why not go high-brow?

The File in PowerPoint Format
by Nicole Speulda and Seuss, PhD.
 
The sun did not shine.
It was too snowy to play.
So I sat in the house
All that cold, cold, blizzardy day.

I sat there with workmates,
Online, we twenty-five strong
And I said, "How I wish
Taking a nap felt even somewhat wrong."

Too windy to go out
And too snow-piled to walk.
So I sat in the house.
And did nothing but talk.

So all I could do was to
Sit!
     Sit!
           Sit!
                 Sit!

And I kind of liked it.
Just a little bit.

And then
something went DING!
How that ding made me answer the ring!

I looked!
Then I saw the email File in PPT format!
I looked!
And I saw it!
The File itself in PPT Format!

And it called to me,
"Why do you sit there like that?"
"I know it is blizzardy
And the sun is not sunny.
But you can have
Lots of good fun that is somewhat work-funny!"

"I know some good work you could do,"
Said the File in PPT Format.
"I know some new tricks,"
Said the File in PPT Format.
"A lot of good tricks.
You could do to me.
Your employer
Will not mind at all if you do."

Then File and I
Did not know what to say.
We looked at each other
And knew how we’d spend day.

But my monkey said, "No! No!
Make that Report go away!
Tell that File in PPT Format
You do NOT want to play.
It should not be here.
It should not be about.
It should not be here
When there’s a weather white-out!"

"Now! Now! Have no fear.
Have no fear!" said the File in PPT Format.
"My updates are not bad,"
Said the File in PPT Format.
"Why, we can have
Lots of good fun, if you wish,
with a game that I call
UP-UP-UPLOAD with flickr!"

"Have no fear!" said the File in PPT Format.
"I will not let you fail.
I will hold your margins well
And be compatible with email.
With a wireless connection on both ends!
And wearing my compatibility mode hat!
But that is not ALL I can do!"
Said the File in PPT Format...

And with that, I told the File...
we’ll do the rest in the morning.

No comments: