Back in college, I discovered February is the suckiest month. At the time I thought this was a fluke that all of my friends and myself were having a depressing or rotten time (in fact, on March 1st, we had a small party that February was over) but I'm starting to think otherwise. I find myself almost chronicly depressed in February every year and only just two days ago, I had a major snafu with my powerbill that almost got my power shut off. [sigh]
So... your thoughts: does February suck or is it just a relative thing?
Well, by February I'm pretty tired of the crappy Winter weather, but other than that it's no worse than any other month for me.
DK
Well, this week has been pretty sucky for me. This week was february...
I think you might be right!
The Romans considered February to be a bad luck month- that's why they took a few days off of it, making it the shortest month.
i've had an exceptionally good week thus far.... time off work, GW event, free ipod, my credit limit was upped, picked up mudbox, I think i'm stealing your karma o_o
GG,
I agree, and I believe it's sort of a "perfect storm" of factors that tend to make it thusly sucky. First, winter weather has usually been going on for while by now, and the charm of the first snowfall has given way to the repetitive drudgery of cold, shoveling, scraping, pipes bursting, power going out, and cabin fever. Next, we've been through the mad rush of Christmas/Chanukah/New Year that heightens the joys and stresses associated with winter and leaves us exhausted and hung over by January. Finally, for many, Valentine's Day looms large. For those of us with hearts and flowers in our eyes and a warm snuggle-bunny to cuddle with by the fire, Valentine's Day can be a day of exquisite delight. For the rest of us..... ;)
EC
Quote from: El Condor on February 09, 2007, 07:27:07 AMFinally, for many, Valentine's Day looms large. For those of us with hearts and flowers in our eyes and a warm snuggle-bunny to cuddle with by the fire, Valentine's Day can be a day of exquisite delight. For the rest of us..... ;)
EC
And for me, it's my brother's birthday.
Quote from: Alaric on February 09, 2007, 07:20:16 AM
The Romans considered February to be a bad luck month- that's why they took a few days off of it, making it the shortest month.
Sort of.
By the Roman calendar, February was the last month of the year, and this was a big part of why it was considered unlucky. Under the Julian calendar (the first modern solar calandar used in Europe and intiated by Julius Caesar) the first month of the year had 31 days (March), the next 30 (April) and so on alternating though the year. This gave the last month of the year (Feb) 30 days, but also made the year 366 days long. This works in a leap year, but in non-leap years they gave February 29 days. This also contributes to the unlucky thing in that it is a doubly odd month. This set up also explains the names of September (the seventh month) October (the eighth), November (the ninth) and December (tenth) by their original order in the year.
But astute readers will note three things.
One: the year now ends in December. This is believed to be a Roman Catholic church thing and was intended to have the birth of Christ (which is somewhat aribtrairily set as Dec. 25th*) as well as the New Year associated with the winter solstice to impress the pagans.
Two: The nice pattern of month lengths that was established by the Julian Calendar got goofed up by Julius' successor. See, they had named a month after Julius (July - of course), and when Augustus came to power he had to have a month too - August. But his month was only 30 days long, and that obviously wouldn't do, so he "moved" a day from the end of the year to make his month the same length and reset the ordering of the rest.
This fact also gives us difference three: that Februaury has 28 days and 29 in a leap year.
Other cool calendar facts:
The first month of the Roman calendar (March) was named after Mars, the god of war and the patron of the Roman state.
June is named after Juno, the goddess of the home and marriage, and to this day June is the traditional month in which to get married.
*Nobody really knows when Jesus was born. It is not explicitly stated in the bible, but an educated guess would put it some time in March. Recall that Mary and Joseph were traveling to Jerusalem to be counted for the census. Since December in Isreal is a generally cold and rainy month. Most people would have had to walk and the roads would not have been very passable. By the same token spring, summer, and fall would have been difficult for farmers (a very significant portion of the population). Late winter seems to be the best time for such an event to be held - once the wather has started to improve, but before farming really takes off. But again, no one really knows.
Well...Feburary has just been a continuation of the already mental breakdown inducing crap that's been haunting me since Christmas...so...ummm....I don't know!
Quote from: Uncle Yuan on February 09, 2007, 10:35:54 AM
Quote from: Alaric on February 09, 2007, 07:20:16 AM
The Romans considered February to be a bad luck month- that's why they took a few days off of it, making it the shortest month.
Sort of.
By the Roman calendar, February was the last month of the year, and this was a big part of why it was considered unlucky. Under the Julian calendar (the first modern solar calandar used in Europe and intiated by Julius Caesar) the first month of the year had 31 days (March), the next 30 (April) and so on alternating though the year. This gave the last month of the year (Feb) 30 days, but also made the year 366 days long. This works in a leap year, but in non-leap years they gave February 29 days. This also contributes to the unlucky thing in that it is a doubly odd month. This set up also explains the names of September (the seventh month) October (the eighth), November (the ninth) and December (tenth) by their original order in the year.
But astute readers will note three things.
One: the year now ends in December. This is believed to be a Roman Catholic church thing and was intended to have the birth of Christ (which is somewhat aribtrairily set as Dec. 25th*) as well as the New Year associated with the winter solstice to impress the pagans.
Two: The nice pattern of month lengths that was established by the Julian Calendar got goofed up by Julius' successor. See, they had named a month after Julius (July - of course), and when Augustus came to power he had to have a month too - August. But his month was only 30 days long, and that obviously wouldn't do, so he "moved" a day from the end of the year to make his month the same length and reset the ordering of the rest.
This fact also gives us difference three: that Februaury has 28 days and 29 in a leap year.
Other cool calendar facts:
The first month of the Roman calendar (March) was named after Mars, the god of war and the patron of the Roman state.
June is named after Juno, the goddess of the home and marriage, and to this day June is the traditional month in which to get married.
*Nobody really knows when Jesus was born. It is not explicitly stated in the bible, but an educated guess would put it some time in March. Recall that Mary and Joseph were traveling to Jerusalem to be counted for the census. Since December in Isreal is a generally cold and rainy month. Most people would have had to walk and the roads would not have been very passable. By the same token spring, summer, and fall would have been difficult for farmers (a very significant portion of the population). Late winter seems to be the best time for such an event to be held - once the wather has started to improve, but before farming really takes off. But again, no one really knows.
I considered explaining about the whole July/August thing, but I figured it wasn't really on topic for this thread...
My February thus far has been hellishly busy... so... no blah. :D
Quote from: Midnight on February 09, 2007, 11:42:53 AM
My February thus far has been hellishly busy... so... no blah. :D
Same here, for I am overseeing graduate admissions to the MA and Ph.D programs in English.
Hang in there, GG. April, National Poetry Month (and also "the cruelest month," incidentally), is just around the corner to chase the blahs away! :)
ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and You Know the Rest
Quote from: ow_tiobe_sb on February 09, 2007, 11:56:07 AM
Quote from: Midnight on February 09, 2007, 11:42:53 AM
My February thus far has been hellishly busy... so... no blah. :D
Same here, for I am overseeing graduate admissions to the MA and Ph.D programs in English.
Hang in there, GG. April, National Poetry Month (and also "the cruelest month," incidentally), is just around the corner to chase the blahs away! :)
ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and You Know the Rest
o.o Aaahhh! FACULTY! I'll have my paper to you TOMORROW, I SWEAR!
...*twitch* Sorry.
I've been busy with the show that's going up... a week from today. Been in the theatre between 8 and 12 hours a day. Tack classes onto that and I'm too busy to be blah. Or do homework. :)
Quote from: ow_tiobe_sb on February 09, 2007, 11:56:07 AM
Hang in there, GG. April, National Poetry Month (and also "the cruelest month," incidentally), is just around the corner to chase the blahs away! :)
ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and You Know the Rest
In Japan, April is sometimes called the month of death and few couples get married during it. On the plus side, I was born in April which I'm positive makes up for any negativity the month might possess.
DK
Funny you say that I have just been diagnosed with Lyme Disease this very week... although I think I would have probably been bitten by the tick (or ticks hehe) back in summer..... since I'm a whitewater raft guide I think thats about as close to nature I can get... just this time nature had won. Although to my defense i moved to America in April, from jolly old England, so I was unaware of the effects or consequences of tick bites. Ahwell life goes on, persevere and everything will be good. I mean March is one of my favourite months of the year, the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
Quote from: Uncle Yuan on February 09, 2007, 10:35:54 AM
June is named after Juno, the goddess of the home and marriage, and to this day June is the traditional month in which to get married.
Maybe in YOUR hemisphere... wacky Northerners...
Well, at the end of January, it looked like a had a new job, but while they keep assuring me the job is mine, it's taking forever to actually get me back to work, while I watch my previously fat bank account dwindle down to nothing. So yeah this month is kinda depressing.
QuoteFunny you say that I have just been diagnosed with Lyme Disease this very week
VERY sorry to hear! :( Hope everything turns out okay.
EC
Well I was in a good mood but a new boss is taking over and kicking out our old boss. Our old boss was awesome, all he would do was smile and never ask questions, exactly what we needed. The new boss dosent know anything yet so he's cracking down on trivial things such as dress code and attendance.
Oh, and my tax return is $100. Yup.
Beyond that Im doing good but its creepy to see boston with no snow this time of year.
I think its a pretty much 50/50 thing. 50% of the population get a horrible february, and 50% don't. I was inclined to go with other people in this thread and class myself as a "Good" february...but looking back, I ALWAYS get ill sometime in this month. Not bad in and of itself, because it could be a lot worse, such as having my car crashed into, house broken into, death in the family etc. etc...but that doesn't exactly cheer me up when I'm in the thick of it. To be fair, this years illness has probably been the worst so far - usually its just snotty colds and doesn't even lay me up, but this years has knocked me flat on my kaboose for days :(
for numerous reasons i will not go into here
i agree . . . february generally is a horrid month for me.
Here in Alberta, and perhaps some other provinces, "Reading Week" is a week off of university that's always 2/3 through February. It was put there because the suicide rate amongst University students was alarmingly high near that time -- so it was originally nicknamed "Suicide Prevention Week".
So, yes, statistically speaking, February is known to be a downer month.
Actually I have to agree, February sucks <_<
Maybe we should start some kind of cheer event every February ^_^
Don't worry the sun will come out behind those thick rainclouds, though not for the next 3 weeks.
Anyways when you get down just think of babies and pancake bunnies, they're great with chocolate sauce.
Are you MAD man!?
...Everyone knows barbeque is what makes babies taste good. Chocolate just makes you realise how stringy they are :thumbdown:
*HULPFF!* :blink:
I should be careful what I read when I'm eating.
BTW, I don't have any real issues with this time of year besides people walking around in six layers of burlap, but the close timing of "Suicide Prevention Week" and Valentine's Day is interesting. It might be worth checking out birthrates in November to see what people are doing to ward off depression in February... :ph34r:
[Edit]
*looks up the data*
Apparently, not much. Kinda makes one want to reconsider the effort put into a certain upcoming holiday...
[/Edit]
February is all about Valentines day. :wub:
BLEH! :angry:
okay, i'm just lonely. :lol:
See I grew up enjoying valentines day. Yeah, I was single all the way until I was 18 BUT back home they call it the day "of love and friendship" so it is customary to trade gifts with your close friends and at least some chocolates or paper hearts or stuff with the rest of your class. It was always cool walking around with a half dozen paper hearts pinned to your shirt. And while dating valentines was usually the day we were too busy to do anything special, so for me it's just another day.
If anyone read my prev thread you would notice that I found a good cure for the bleh's... we had a ton of booze, my excelent crock pot of bean stew and played Red Steel for the wii. The game reminds me of Max Payne left and right... you are mostly invulnerable thanks to your deadpool level mutant healing factor (never explained) and the cut scenes are comic book style (it would of rocked if they had gone with manga). Multiplayer is fast and furious without worrying about aiming with annoying analog sticks (never liked those guys) although the wii crashed (yes, crashed) after our first multiplayer game. I like this system but thank god I havent bought one, I can tell it will have problems.
*dousnt believe in valentines Day*
(ps. *DOES believe in easter*
(pps. Easter Bunnies RAWK)
(ppps. yes I know i'm early -_- )
{ppps. Gimme chocolate :P)
Quote from: UnfluffyBunny on February 11, 2007, 07:33:16 AM
*dousnt believe in valentines Day*
(ps. *DOES believe in easter*
(pps. Easter Bunnies RAWK)
(ppps. yes I know i'm early -_- )
{ppps. Gimme chocolate :P)
You should ask to have your name temporarily changed to Unfluffy-Easter-Bunny around that time. :P
I've actually been in my happy place lately.... which is weird, since I've been having my chronic depression all year... But it's nice, because being non-depressed is infinitely better than being depressed. ^_^
I'm sorry to hear you've got a case of the blahs, though..
-CM
its just another month
nothing special
nothing bad
the only thing that really annoys me about february is writing the stupid word :P
Wow... I learned a lot this thread.
1) lostas interesting historical trivia.
2) It's not just me.
Somehow that last fact is strangely comforting.
Quote from: Glitch Girl on February 11, 2007, 07:22:04 PM
Wow... I learned a lot this thread.
1) lostas interesting historical trivia.
2) It's not just me.
Somehow that last fact is strangely comforting.
And you can print out all the trivia and burn it for warmth!
....
okay, I need to go sleep now... :huh:
-CM
BTW - how many of you pronounce the month either "feb-yew-ary" or "feb-bru-ary"?
Just curious! :D
EC
Depends how precocious I'm going to be ;)
And sharing a problem always makes you feel better :)
Quote from: El Condor on February 12, 2007, 06:16:27 AM
BTW - how many of you pronounce the month either "feb-yew-ary" or "feb-bru-ary"?
Just curious! :D
EC
Actually, I hear a lot of Feb-wary.
DK
Hmm... Actually, February doesn't bother me all that much since I'm an indoors kind of guy anyway and I live with the blahs pretty much year round due to sleep deprivation. This year there's a bit of extra cabin fever due to circumstances, but it really affects my wife the worst. She needed spring about a month ago, which is obviously not possible because a) it would have been January and b) we live in Michigan.
My anniversary is tomorrow, so that tends to cancel out some (tho not all) of the winter blahs for me.
We generally get our heaviest snowfall in Feb, which is a downer for me but great for the kids.
And there's always been something sort of magical about the whole Leap Year thing. I've always been oddly fascinated by the thought that one might celebrate their birthday but once every 4 years and measure their age by two different standards. Makes it extra special. Then again, if one only gets a birthday party once every 4 years, I could see how that might be a drag.
And in what other month do we have a goofy holiday observance like Groundhog's Day where we venerate an oversized rodent? That's pretty special, too. Not sure if it's special-special or short-bus-special, but what the hey?
So I think I prefer to think of February as a month with real character.
Quote from: El Condor on February 12, 2007, 06:16:27 AM
BTW - how many of you pronounce the month either "feb-yew-ary" or "feb-bru-ary"?
Just curious! :D
EC
I've always been a "feb-yew-ary" person, although I have to say it seems to me that that pronounciation is dying out.
Quote from: Dweomer Knight on February 12, 2007, 08:52:05 AM
Actually, I hear a lot of Feb-wary.
DK
I've been hearing a lot of that these days, too.
Quote from: BlueBard on February 12, 2007, 09:58:07 AMAnd there's always been something sort of magical about the whole Leap Year thing. I've always been oddly fascinated by the thought that one might celebrate their birthday but once every 4 years and measure their age by two different standards. Makes it extra special. Then again, if one only gets a birthday party once every 4 years, I could see how that might be a drag.
Heh... I know someone whose birthday's on Leap Year...
Quote from: BlueBard on February 12, 2007, 09:58:07 AM
And in what other month do we have a goofy holiday observance like Groundhog's Day where we venerate an oversized rodent? That's pretty special, too. Not sure if it's special-special or short-bus-special, but what the hey?
So I think I prefer to think of February as a month with real character.
AND it's the month of my younger brother's birthday... he was born on Valentine's Day... Don't know if that makes the month better or worse for me :)
Oh, it's an okay month.
My family has 7 birthdays in February. So I get kinda overwhelmed with parties, but I've managed to make the most of it.
And I pronounce it "Feb-yah-wary"
In the US....February is Black History Month!
Well, this month was already a downer. Now it just got worse.
I was driving home today, and I start smelling something, then my car loses steering, or at least it's nearly impossible to turn.
Fortunately, it was on my home street, so I just had to force it into the parking lot.
Now I have no car to go to work even if I can get a job, I have almost no money left to fix the thing, and I'll have to get it towed to the repair place in the first place. The good news is, I think it's something relatively simple to fix, like a steering fluid leak.
If it is just a minor steering pump leak (which is a pretty common thing), you can buy a can of sealant that will keep it from leaking enough to get to the repair place.
Of course, if you lost steering all at once, it may be more than a minor leak. You may want to check that the hose didn't splt or become detached.
BTW, most cars can be driven without power steering (they are designed that way as a safety feature) though it requires more effort. Just remember that the steering is much easier when the car is in motion.
I mention all these things because I have replaced my power steering pump by myself before and, though it's not really cheap, the part itself is not usually a super-expensive item. I would hate to think you end up adding 50% to the cost of this incident just in towing charges getting the car to the garage.
Anyway, hope you are running again soon.
Yeah it was all at once.
The thing is, my car's a Saab, and it's near impossible to find anything in the engine. It did happen suddenly, and I've seen this sort of thing happen before at my former job. If I could find where the fluid was stored, I might be able to rig something up.
Quote from: Sevenforce on February 10, 2007, 05:52:19 PM
Are you MAD man!?
...Everyone knows barbeque is what makes babies taste good. Chocolate just makes you realise how stringy they are :thumbdown:
Damn straight...however, I do say that microwaving them also makes 'em quite good too!
Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on February 13, 2007, 09:18:17 AMYeah it was all at once.
The thing is, my car's a Saab, and it's near impossible to find anything in the engine. It did happen suddenly, and I've seen this sort of thing happen before at my former job. If I could find where the fluid was stored, I might be able to rig something up.
Ouch. Saab parts are pricey. And your mechanic may want to replace the rack as well. Sorry, man. Your best hope is that it's just the hose itself or the drive belt. At least those are both things you can spot by looking.
BTW, if you can spot a very oily hose or something, you can follow it to the pump and rack. The power steering pump will be one of a handful of devices driven by a belt on the engine (like the alternator, a/c compressor, etc.). Process of elimination will tell you which one it is. I don't recall for Saabs, but most have the fluid reservoir integrated on the pump itself. There should be cap you can get to (famous last words) with a little dipstick that lets you check the fluid level. You may be able to find a diagram on the web somewhere for your model. (At the very least, you can find a pic of the pump, since there are plenty of auto parts sites online that sell this sort of thing and most show an image.)
Good luck.
I seem to recall that it was 'scientifically' established that the worst day of the year was in late January / early February.
So, yeah, it seems lots of folks can be a bit down around this time of year. Still, upwards and onwards eh?
I would just like to say; today? Horrible, horrible day.
Well I think this thread has jinxed this month... haha last night i got in a car wreck.... im pretty lucky to be alive right now haha
EDIT: but i also guess it is unlucky it happened in the first place hehe
Yup, February sucks.
Last week, I was doing my regular exercises (New Year's Resolution: be more active) and was in the middle of situps when WHAMMO, huge pain around my chest. Apparently, trying to add those extra five situps messed up a muscle in my back and left me in a world of hurt to the point where it was hard to breathe. A couple sleepless nights, a lot of hot baths and aspirin later, I'm feeling a lot more like myself, but my routine which I was trying so hard to keep, has been pretty much shot to hell and until I'm sure this has healed, I won't be able to get back on it. [sigh]
Sometimes you just cant' win.
Quote from: Glitch Girl on February 20, 2007, 06:51:27 PM
Yup, February sucks.
Last week, I was doing my regular exercises (New Year's Resolution: be more active) and was in the middle of situps when WHAMMO, huge pain around my chest. Apparently, trying to add those extra five situps messed up a muscle in my back and left me in a world of hurt to the point where it was hard to breathe. A couple sleepless nights, a lot of hot baths and aspirin later, I'm feeling a lot more like myself, but my routine which I was trying so hard to keep, has been pretty much shot to hell and until I'm sure this has healed, I won't be able to get back on it. [sigh]
Sometimes you just cant' win.
Have to be careful with excersise... I hope you didn't do anything permanent to yourself.
I can sympathize about the excersise, though... Every now and then, I start to excersise regularly... I think the longest I ever managed to keep it up for was a couple of months... Something about regular activity with no obvious immediate purpose...
At least I do a lot of walking. That's better than nothing, I guess...
For me the horrible month of the year is August.
1. It's freaking hot. Living in the desert, it's basically the hottest month in the year.
2. No new movies come out in August. The month is at the tail end of the summer blockbuster season and it's too early for the fall releases.
3. It's freaking hot.
4. No good television. Series' are typically in the middle of their break and there's still several months to go before they start up again.
5. It's freaking hot.
6. No good games. Games like to launch in spring or in the fall in time from Christmas.
7. Long summer days combined with the fact that there's 31 of them makes for a hot horrible time.
Yeah, you have to be careful when on one of those exercise kicks. I go through the odd one and they often end with me putting back out. (I'm on an exercise buzz right now as it happens - stretches, weights, cycling). I'm no expert but I was always under the impression that sit-ups were dangerous for the back so I have assiduously avoided them at all times. This was advice I received from a physio, back in the day, although I don't recall if this advice was specific to people with bad backs or if it held true for all cases.
Rest and recuperation is the order of the day now. Don't even think about restarting your programme until you're better. Says I with no qualifications on this matter whatsoever.
Quote from: Glitch Girl on February 20, 2007, 06:51:27 PM
Yup, February sucks.
Last week, I was doing my regular exercises (New Year's Resolution: be more active) and was in the middle of situps when WHAMMO, huge pain around my chest. Apparently, trying to add those extra five situps messed up a muscle in my back and left me in a world of hurt to the point where it was hard to breathe. A couple sleepless nights, a lot of hot baths and aspirin later, I'm feeling a lot more like myself, but my routine which I was trying so hard to keep, has been pretty much shot to hell and until I'm sure this has healed, I won't be able to get back on it. [sigh]
Sometimes you just cant' win.
you need to be careful about doing exercises when your not acoustumed to it.. the body sets itself to a particular condition, and tends to react badly when that condition is suddenly subjected to change. this is why many dieters can never keep off the weight, they change their food intake all at once and often to completly different foods, or just stop eating as much, and the body says "oh crap, i'm not getting the same levels of these certain things anymore, i better try and stockpile." and since this is often carbs, fats, and other things, once the dieter loses their chosen weight and goes back to the old way of eating, the body gets flooded with carbs, fats, etc. and the pounds come right back, becuase the body wasn't burning the stuff off as fast now. if your serious about exerciseing, it might be a good idea to go to a fittness center, and consult with a trainer. most places are willing to give you a free consultation to see what your needs are before they offer you the membership plan.
Sit ups aren't necessarily bad as part of a balanced work out routine. The problems could arise if you're not doing any exercises for your back, or if bad form causes you to use your hip flexors (the muscle right below the outer points of your pelvis going down to your legs). If you're not strengthening your back, your abs or hip flexors will get stronger and tighter, stretching the back muscles out, making them weaker and more prone to injury.
The same can be said for guys who focus too much on increasing chest size and ignoring the opposing muscle on their upper back. They can eventually develop serious problems with their shoulders.
Solutions can be pretty simple. Start your workout with some dynamic stretching. Work opposing muscle groups. GG, if your case I would recommend plank exercises since they work the abs and lower back simultaneously and there's little chance of accidentally using your hip flexors. Then when you're done working out finish with static or traditional stretching.
Diets are a whole other topic, but suffice to say the amount of carbs and fats you eat is less important than the kinds of carbs and fats you eat.
Quote from: TigerStyle on February 27, 2007, 05:50:14 PM
Diets are a whole other topic, but suffice to say the amount of carbs and fats you eat is less important than the kinds of carbs and fats you eat.
What is the goal of your diet? Are you trying to reduce your cholesterol or your risks for certain kinds of cancer? If so, then the
types of fat matter. Are you a boarderline type two diabetic trying to control your blood glucose? If so, then the
types of carbohydrates matter. Are you simply trying to loose weight? If so, really only the
amount of either matters. Numerous high quality studies comparing the various weight loss diets show that any of them that result in meaningful weight loss at one year (and there are quite a few) have only
one thing in common: you wind up consuming fewer calories.
Its nearly over, guys.... nearly over.
But it goes out with a bang.
Spent yesterday and today at the DMV trying to renew my tag.
short version: the DMV says I haven't had insurance since August. My insurance agent and my bills say otherwise. The DMV won't take the bills or the faxes, it has to be on the insurance carrier's letterhead otherwise I have to pay $100 reaplication fee. The official documents are in transit, but won't get here until March so I still have to pay a late fee. ($15, much less than the $100 at least) Bleah.
However, February wasn't all suckage - I did get to see the Capitol Steps live and a very good performance of Swan Lake over the weekend.
DAMN YOU DMV!
The bane of all existence.