BendBroadband, our local cable TV and Internet provider, is running some cute commercials referring to the distinctive Central Oregon season of "Finter." That's the time when according to the calendar it's fall, but it feels like Winter.
Finter definitely describes the situation in Bend today -- it's still two days before Thanksgiving and almost a month before the Winter Solstice and some of the trees still have a few leaves on them, but the temperature is in the upper 20s and up to eight inches of snow is forecast for today and tomorrow.
After Finter, of course, comes the actual official Winter, followed by the Spring-That-Feels-Like-Winter, which might be dubbed "Sprinter."
And then comes the period of eight weeks or so we call "Summer," although even in Summer we experience some days so chilly that the label of "Wummer" might be applied.
Call it Finter, Winter, Sprinter or Wummer -- it all sucks.
12 comments:
Finter? Seriously? Wow.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that's about had it with having a few seasonal-appropriate days thrown in our face every time the topic comes up.
Looking back on this past Wummer-Bummer I doubt we had a -week's- worth of what could be described as the "sweet spot" of summer. Certainly no more than a week at a stretch. And that's here in the WV.
OR weather is like mixing your entire meal as a kid into one big heap ( only to find your mother was going to make you eat it ANYWAY! ) The lines in our seasons are so blurred we should just work 7 days a week and plop all our "weekends" into June, July & August just to have a shot.
One question "Blackdog": Why have you lived in Bend for 25 years if it sucks so bad?? It sure isn't the Real Estate market. I guarantee you're an overweight middle-aged balding man, who lives in his mothers basement, has never played sports and just complains about everything. "hey mom! I want some more meatloaf!! Mom! meatloaf!!"
"Why have you lived in Bend for 25 years if it sucks so bad??"
I liked it a lot better when I moved here.
"I guarantee you're an overweight middle-aged balding man ..."
Correct.
"who lives in his mothers basement ..."
Wrong.
"has never played sports ..."
Wrong again.
"and just complains about everything."
No, I only complain about things I don't like. For example, the Ducks football team has given me almost nothing to complain about this year.
Anyway, WTF does having played sports have to do with anything? Why do Bend defenders always bring it up? Is it because this community is so full of hard-core jock sniffers?
Bend is kind of an overage version of high school. The jocks and the cheerleaders are at the top of the social totem pole. The only difference is the jocks here are skiers, snowboarders, cross-country skiers, rock climbers and mountain-bike racers instead of football and basketball players, and the cheerleaders are the realtors.
blackdog,
Worse yet, I don't consider any of those 'hobbies' anything more than 'pastimes'? Don't get me wrong, grand fun all. 'Sports'? Not a chance.
Are there people willing to turn it into an 'industry' by taking it way, way more seriously than it ever warranted? To be sure, they're now big business. To that end, Bend likey.
As a loooong-time guitarist/purist I can tell you, once you strip away all those "war toys", foot pedals and digital gizmos ( most guitar players SUCK! ) Show me you can carry the song plugged -directly- into your amp ( sans detour ) if you want to impress me.
When you've all the latest state of the art ski/snowboard/climbing gear, how much of it is the equipt. and how much of it is 'you'? And please don't tell me you're a mountain-biker ( when your bike costs more than my car? ) Like I say, I'm a purist and I don't apologize for it.
This level of self indulgence hacks me off almost as much as our 'weather' ( and the housing bubble ) combined!
Whether these outdoor activities are sports or mere pastimes depends, I guess, on the level at which they're pursued. At the elite level, they're certainly sports, I'd argue.
Of course most of those who pursue such activities in Bend are not at the elite level -- they just pretend to be. I could write a book about the "elite" athletic snobs / poseurs of Bend -- the "jocktocracy," as Bob Woodward calls them. Maybe some day I will.
Well, a post, anyway.
"not at the elite level--they just pretend to be"
Right, my point being, we all have friends that blather on about their 'pursuits' shall we agree on that? Why they know every binding, graphite ski pole and stretchy bike shorts ever produced!
Subscribe to mags, belong to clubs and snub others at work that "aren't at their level". Boring! If you truly love something, you couldn't care LESS whether or not it impresses someone that's essentially a stranger to you.
You do it b/c you love it. No 'audience' required. Harley people can be the same way. In my mind this is all just an excuse to spend money on yourself. We've all seen the metrosexual "bro-mance" between two guys that "bought the exact same model!" Ewwww.
What we should perhaps be quantifying is.., what defines a "true sport"? For 'my' money, it's pretty limited. Boxing. Two MEN square off against one another. Surfing. No, not "roller-surfing", heli-surfing, para-surfing... SURFING! One man, one wave. And NO ( "quad'ing" around in circles bombed out of your mind does -not- qualify as a 'sport' )
We shouldn't complain too loudly though ( high-end sporting goods are among the last things produced in the US? ) As Americans, we "draw the line" when it comes to our LEISURE!
Are you saying that team sports like football, basketball, baseball, soccer etc. aren't really "sports"? I would have to vehemently disagree.
blackdog,
No I would consider those sports and most of us wouldn't exclude them by any measure. I believe though the original context was "extreme sports" and that's where I take exception?
In spite of the fact you and I are regularly painted as 'malcontents' ( across the board ) I really only have a handful of pet peeves.
1) Endless and nearly identical "Fests".
2) Truly crappy and unending weather.
3) Extreme sports a-holes that get their hang glider -stuck- on a ledge at Mult. Falls!
And the Suck Count for Nov. was..?
I'm already depressed. It gets dark around 4:15 and I'm told today will be another 1 min. and 26 secs. shorter ( if that's possible? )
More than 'depressed', I find myself mostly bored and restless. Maybe if someone invented yet a NEW 'sport' like being dragged thru puddles in the Safeway parking lot by a para-sail I would be able to while away the dark hours. What could possibly go wrong? Much thanks in advance for The Count!
Patience, patience ... I'll post the November numbers tomorrow.
Have you tried light therapy yet? You had talked about it.
"Patience, patience"
LOL, well may...BE ( but when was the last time any of us saw a cr@pper of a day get turned around and become "to DIE for...!" this late in the year? )
blackdog, slightly different approach this year. Like many, I have a ton of end-of-year issues to wrap up but after the first of the year the wife and I plan on taking some well deserved time off from The Drear.
Call it a Desert Swing Trip if you like but we're thinking a good 3 to 4 weeks and I'll be in San Antonio for a month and half after that. Just-need-to-GET-that-far....
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