Snow days, blow-jays and love songs

When I was a kid in the Chicago Public Schools, I only remember having one "Snow Day" in high school ... and that was when they let us out after a half-day only because the school had a power outage. Now, I'm not saying that the weather in southern Illinois isn't brutal, because it is, but the folks down here are kinda thin-skinned.

And you can add me to that grouping, too. Let the record show that I've NEVER liked the cold weather. I hate it. Everyone down here tells you "you're from Chicago, this is your element" and my only response is "it doesn't mean I have to like it." Seriously, where does it say in the city of Chicago charter (if there is one) that it is a prerequisite that you have to like cold weather.

Between that line and the whole idea of "Bear Weather" (which is as fictitious as a low-post figure for the Bulls) Chicagoans truly have a twisted sense of weather.

I'll take sunny and 120 poolside at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas before I take this crap.

And seriously, I still work. And people still work. So Snow Days aren't really as much fun and games as they could have been when I was younger. Ugh.

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Let's talk a little bit about love songs.

I'm not sure if there is a more polarizing genre of music. A really good, soulful love song can either pick up my mood or devestate my psyche depending on the kind of mood I'm in.

If I'm rolling with a good day and I hear a good love song, I'm cranking it on my iPod or the stereo. Either way, I'm jamming. Add alcohol and you can turn me into a crooner. But if a love song comes on and I'm a little down and out then I'm gonna turn it off, or better yet, cuss it out because I don't wanna hear about someone else's love exploits as I battle the cold under a sea of blankets while wearing two hoodies, two pairs of sweat pants and winter hat.

Those days, I just need a hug, a shot of Jack Daniels, a few singles and a lap dance.

Ha!

I'll end today's entry with my favorite love songs ever:

1. Because I Love You, by Lenny Williams.
2. Let's Get It On, by Marvin Gaye
3. At Last, by Etta James
4. I'll Make Love To You, by Boyz II Men
5. Anything by Babyface -- any love song by him is the sh!t, no doubt about it

My beard hurts. I should probably shave, but it's cold outside and the beard keeps me warm.

Here's hoping for another Snow Day and a safe trip to Carbondale for Missouri State's men's basketball team.