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I'm dreaming of a white Q4?

Remember when there were seasons? The hopeful green of spring, the sunshine of summer, the colours of fall and the frosty white of winter? Each season would have an event: a social or family celebration, a madcap holiday getaway with your pals. Life was good. We found enjoyment in the little things.

But something has changed. People reach for the business section of the paper before the funnies. Web surfers have become online traders. A balanced federal or provincial budget is more important than after school recreation programs for the kids. And the seasons have disappeared.

Soon, children will be asked to write essays entitled: What I did on my Q3 vacation.

The annual fall harvest and Thanksgiving celebration becomes a month of all-nighters as board members prepare for the AGM.

In fact, the big AGM Power Point Festival that puts a positive financial spin on Q4 while giving shareholders something to wet their pants about - Q1 is going to ROCK! - is becoming more important than Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years and the rest of the "winter" celebrations.

And I hate it. Even in the entertainment world, it's not "was Harry Potter a good movie?" it's "How much money did Harry Potter make and did it do better than ET?" When did the government and clearly the people who elect the government stop thinking that the social responsibilities of our chosen leaders didn't matter any more? That a balanced budget with kickbacks to shareholders was all they have to worry about? Why don't I get a say in this?

So here I am, just 2 weeks away from Q1 Eve and there has been but one snowfall. I guess some clown in the boardroom figured the shareholders wouldn't want to pay for bucket loads of the white stuff. Not enough ROI on snow. Hmmm... unless they can leverage the toboggan and ice rink market share...

Since Pigdump.com is in the midst of a cheery series of happy photos, Trish Thornton thought she'd dump her grumpiness @ downwithup.com.