Justifying crankiness

Not that you asked, but I've been feeling a bit cranky this past week. Instead of going through all the reasons I ought to get over it, I thought I'd take this opportunity to go through possible root causes of my crankiness.

1. 24-hour heat. Last week here in NorCal it didn't cool down until the wee hours of the morning each night. I am not well equipped to be warm most hours of the day. I'm born and bred a Californian, acclimated to warmth during the day and coolness at night. When I first moved to Texas I did not sleep restfully for several weeks. After my general crankiness and malaise caught David's eye, he decided to crank up the A/C (normally it was set to 78 degrees, and he lowered it to, like, 70 or something--wow, huh?). A few evenings of anti-environmental indulgence and I was back to my usually cheery form (sad, but true). I do not have that option now at my place in California. Thus I have been a bit overheated and cranky as a result.

2. 24-hour election coverage. We're two months from election day and the media are already making daily predictions about the Presidential race (monthly and weekly were frustratingly pointless; daily just puts my TV in jeopardy). I saw the CNN guy doing his electoral college math this morning, placing one state in a red column and another in blue (but wait, if we switch this and this then we get yet another hypothetical result). Fox News predictably reported on the big bump in polls the Republican ticket received after Palin selection (never mind margins of error, sample size, or other statistical relevance). Enough already! Can't we just let people watch debates, read substantive issue statements, and think for themselves before voting. I know, I live in political fantasyland (which is very citizen friendly and well managed, operating under a balanced, compassionate budget, by the way). And lest you tell me to just turn the TV off, I will point out I watched none of these items directly but instead overheard them as my housemate watched.

3. 24-hour hurricane coverage. Okay, natural disasters are terrible things, wreaking havoc in mere hours or minutes. It's sad that people die or have their livelihoods destroyed by the whims of nature. And looking at real devastation after the fact has a way of reaffirming life, which does have its value. Nature is awe inspiring, and we do well not to forget that. But we do not need to spend hours and days imagining all the terrible things that could be coming, even those events that threaten us sooner rather than later. If you want to play the odds, then it's usually a safe gamble to not worry about natural disaster, as relatively few will befall any of us directly in our lifetimes. And when something bad does occur, having worried over it will not have helped get us through it. Being practical and organized and action-oriented will help a lot, on the other hand. I am tired of hearing about how horrible things could be along the Gulf Coast with each impending tropical system. Having lived there (and through a few of them), I know that residents of the area are well aware of the risks. I am okay with allowing regional authorities to work through their preparations (and hopefully learn from experience) as they see fit. I am also okay with outsiders contributing to such preparations. I am not okay with doom-and-gloom reporting about events that may or may not occur and over which I have absolutely no control. (This last item ties to one of my easiest crankiness-triggers: complaint without action. You shouldn't complain if you aren't doing something about the underlying problem.)

4. Nothing to root for? My long-admired presidential candidate has been pandering more than I'd like recently, and the election has gotten to that superficial, do-what-it-takes-to-get-our-party-in-power stage. The Republican convention speakers seemed to rely on negativity, sarcasm, and put downs, which so do not inspire me. I know all of this is what typically happens and sort of expected it, but still I feel let down. The fall television season has presented no appealing new programming (apart from that Hole in the Wall gameshow which is fun for 10 minutes then I feel a bit dirty having laughed so hard at it, so I know the appeal won't last). I've got hours of programs that have languished, unviewed and unenticing, for months on my Tivo (apart from Mad Men and Project Runway, which are a few bright spots in my tv/film viewing these days). Sports usually entertain me, but there I've experienced disappointment too. My baseball team is winding down a rather abysmal season, and my fantasy team never got out of the middle of the pack. My football team, after an encouraging preseason, started the regular season with a disappointing loss yesterday. And my dreams and ideals about our home have turned to reality and a whole lot of work. We still face future remodeling of kitchen and bathroom, with many of the requisite details to be chosen. And even then i'ts not like we're creating our dream home. *sigh*

I long for something or someone to be cheery about, something meaningful and lasting to look forward to. Maybe some private aspiration that even once it's accomplished is sort of interestingly self perpetuating. Hey, I've got the perfect solution: I'll have a baby! ;)