The Doldrums...Not Just an Equatorial Phenomenon

The Doldrums. When most people hear the word they think of a state of mind...the "blah" zone, if you will. A time when things seem to move at the speed of melting roof tar and escapes are few and far between.

About.com defines the Doldrems as: Sailors noticed the stillness of the rising (and not blowing) air near the equator and gave the region the depressing name "doldrums." The doldrums, usually located between 5° north and 5° south of the equator, are also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ for short. The trade winds converge in the region of the ITCZ, producing convectional storms that produce some of the world's heaviest precipitation regions.

As tacky as long allegorys and metaphorical comparisons between my life and trade winds are, I will go ahead and do it. After all, it's my first post and as far as I'm concerned, it can only go up from here.

But basically the term doldrums is absolutely perfect. No, my life isn't boring, so I wouldn't call it tedious. In fact, I'm pretty busy, rushing from school to work to school to work. But let's just say that my life at this time isn't exactly an episode of 24. Just as those alleged trade winds seem to sit still, rising and not necessarily blowing (no pun intended), I seem to just bask in my world of coming and going, not stirring up any gusts of drama-filled wind but not having any fun either.

My life in the doldrums simmers in non-gusting glory, just waiting for a convection storm to come a-blowin'. In my efforts to try and keep my bows tied and the dots on my "i's" I have forgotten that I'm sitting in a virtual Intertropical Convergence Zone. Gosh darnit, if I don't blow off some steam soon I am going to "produce some of the world's heaviest precipitation," (see above). And in case you aren't following my haphazard metaphor here, I'm basically asking for a mental breakdown on my equator sometime very soon unless I blow off some of this "still air."

Time to wake out of my turkey-induced food coma and hit the elliptical...get some of those wonderful "endorphines," pumping through my system. Time to breathe, stretch, shake like Mase and put on my hot jeans with some stiletto boots and hit the town. In other words, it's time to shed the Doldrums. Cause kiddos, this broad has been baking in the "stillness" of the equatorial weather system for too long...it's time to get my winds a-blowin'.