See that above? That’s the approximate color of an 18% gray card.
Boring, eh?
In photography and film, a gray card is used to keep exposures consistent. Meters in cameras, when measuring exposure, see the world kind of in that shade of gray. Professional photographers use them to keep exposures consistent.
“So what?” you’re thinking. Or perhaps “GeekHiker has gone straight off the deep end.”
Close.
For the last couple of days they sky, both at home and at work, has been that shade of gray. The entire sky. From one end to the other, a remarkably consistent, remarkably boring, gray.
I almost typed “and it’s depressed the hell out of me,” but that’s too severe a description. Let’s just say it’s given me a severe case of the blahs.
I’d be happier with just about anything else. Blue skies, of course, would be good. Rain would be good: at least rain has variety, it ebbs and flows, the clouds change as the storm rolls through.
Snow would even be good, just for something different in the sky.
The skies lit afire by an invading alien army bent on destroying the Earth and enslaving it’s people… okay, maybe I don’t need that radical a change.
My Dad has SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and I sometimes wonder if I have it too. But the short days don’t get to me. Rain doesn’t get to me. Even low ground fog doesn’t get to me.
But days and days of mid level clouds making for solid gray skies? Yeah, that gets to me.
Some of this plays into a post I’ve been writing since I got back from Oregon. Writing and editing and re-editing and re-editing. So much so that I don’t even know if I should post it since, given how long ago the trip was, who’d want to read it?
Ugh.
Maybe this post will break the cycle, and I’ll wake up tomorrow to a bright blue sky outside my window.
‘Cuz, dammit, this gray stuff is getting me down.
The GeekHiker 
Never move to Pittsburgh. Or Brussels.
By: quirkygirl on November 7, 2007
at 7:47 pm
Post it!
And add some colour to your wardrobe or walls or food to brighten things. That and listen to cheery music.
By: just a girl on November 7, 2007
at 9:05 pm
You California boys… can’t handle a bit of gray. We have weeks of that in the winter where I come from. I have SAD as well, and it makes the winter hard when I don’t see the sun for what seems like weeks at a time.
It’s LA, it will improve soon I’m sure.
By: lea on November 8, 2007
at 4:34 am
I would suggest brownies, a good workout and possibly a beverage or five to help you out. There’s a light/lamp thing I’ve heard about that you can program that turns on early in the morning to get your circadian rhythms etc on track during blah weather.
By: Ruby on November 8, 2007
at 6:30 am
GH! Try increasing your vitamin D through your diet! Milk, eggs (specifically egg yolks), swiss cheese, salmon, canned tuna and you can buy Cod Liver Oil and take 1 tablespoon. I know that sounds gross but it provides the most Vit D!
By: *kb* on November 8, 2007
at 6:31 am
I hear you GH. Here in Oxnard it’s been just as gray and dull as in LA. We do have some fog in the morning to break up the gray day but I haven’t seen blue since last Saturday and I had to drive 50 miles to see it. I suggest picking a hike further inland if possible and fight the blues with some blue sky.
The weird thing is, when I lived in the Midwest (Iowa), the gray skies and the short days didn’t bother me as much. I guess college classes got in the way of the blahs. Then again, I may just be blocking all the blah days out of my memory.
By: Homer-Dog on November 8, 2007
at 6:41 am
Sorry to hear you have a case of the blues.
Post whatever it is you’re writing about Oregon, you tease!
And then put on a bright colored shirt and take a walk (like in the park or something). Smile and say hello to random strangers and when they smile and say hello back to you, trust me it is going to make you feel giddy. Instant mood lifter.
And no I’m not one of those annoying people who tries to chat with strangers, but looking people in the eye and smiling for no reason can be free-ing sometimes. I normally keep this little “feel-good” secret to myself.
By: charlotte harris on November 8, 2007
at 10:59 am
Thanks to everyone for the positive comments. Still gray today, but feeling a bit less down.
QuirkyGirl – Good to know. Luckily, Pittsburgh wasn’t on the life list. 😉
Just A Girl – Yes’m. What’re you saying, my closet full of blue and gray clothes aren’t cheery?
lea – not true. The entire month of June is solid gray skies. Maybe I just can’t do it twice in one year.
Ruby – Best. Advice. Ever. 🙂
*kb* – I was with you up until the cod liver oil…
Homer – If they open up the Angeles, I’ll go up there, but until then…
charlotte – Thanks. Working on the post. Funny thing in the city, when you smile at a stranger, they look at you weird…
By: geekhiker on November 8, 2007
at 6:17 pm
You’ve got a case of the blahs? You??
Here’s the deal, you can either snap out of it, or be subjected to me singing about Rainy Days and Mondays! Hah, Feel better now?
Sorry, 2 days of no sleep has me a bit rummy! I have no control of my fingers when I get this way.
By: dobegil on November 8, 2007
at 9:51 pm