sometimes this happy valley is a little crazy

i'm taking a break from what now feels like 24 hours of running analyses to make sure that i get a post up before i head to missouri. i don't know what it is, since almost everything throughout the week was canceled due to the snow, but this week feels like it has gone by super quickly. i suspect that when i get back from missouri, that pace will only pick up until ICIS is over on March 14th.

as i'm certain you've picked up on, winter is a season of pennsylvania-isms; the majority of these have to do with snow and ice and the - um - interesting strategies for dealing with winter that come up in this area. here is one of my favorites, which i see all over the place:

i remember that when i saw this for the first time, i thought, "hmmmm, they know those are still going to get ice on them, right?" it's so strange to me because i never ever remember seeing this in the midwest (and ryan confirmed last night that he also never saw it in boston). i will give people that this will prevent your wipers from becoming frozen to your windshield, but if you're doing a little thing called running your defrost once you start your car, you should be okay. yet people stick by this charming little pennsylvania-ism, attesting to its tried and true performance in the "ice prevention" arena. so, maybe the next time the forecast calls for snow and ice, i'll go make sure that i open my car doors - that way they won't be frozen shut in the morning.

in any case, people putting up their windshield wipers don't really affect me and - aside from the occasional eye roll - i don't get too worked up about it. what does irritate me is this apparent inability to plow roads which is supplemented by people saying things like, "well, it's better not to plow the roads. if you plow 'em, they just turn to ice." what?! that doesn't really make any sense unless you live somewhere with the most rapid freeze/thaw cycle known to man. so, i feel a little vindicated this morning, when my parking space (that's mine in the top right of the picture) is my for-real-proof as to the value of pushing the snow away (i know you can't tell for sure, but no, it is not covered in ice. it's basically dry). haha, you silly pennsylvnaians. now please plow your roads.

what has happened in the last few days besides snow? not much, really. lacey and i had a superbowl party on sunday, which was fun. it made it even better that this year was such a good game. i found a bean dip recipe online that was not only cute and yummy, but full of protein and fiber ("lacey friendly") and low in cholesterol ("matt friendly"). tragically, i did destroy one of lacey's plastic spoons in my blender during the preparation process. my bad. there are more pics from the party on lacey's blog, if you're interested.

the only other news that i can share today is that it is "packing day" - a day of excitement that was formulated somewhere along the line to make it seem like an eagerly-awaited trip is basically here. i will be packing intermittently between struggling with these analyses. later this afternoon i have meetings, then my class at the gym, and then it will be the close of the day already. i only wish that it was summer in missouri right now. ah well - becca just posted some more pics from our trip to austin in the fall, so i'll post one of those where i'm sunburned and we can all just pretend. (l -> r: becca, me, matt, josh. i don't know why i'm making that face.)