I couldn't agree more about just leaving a VM. Unfortunately, for me, it's my parents who are the ones often using this excuse, and they were heavy answering machine people back in the day...

My area closes with 3" of snow. However, when we get 3" of snow, it's often coupled with ice. And, quite frankly, I'd rather have a foot of snow than even the smallest amount of ice.

I just wear gloves at the gym when the going gets tough. I also sometimes feel out the weights to find dumbells and barbells with less knurling than others when the weights are bothering my hands.

So if I keep the aggression at bay, what am I doing with my anger? Reflecting on it? Using it to fight crime?

Granted, today's jeans aren't the Levi's that our grandparents wore, but I still think they are practical for household maintenance. For example, when trimming thorny bushes, jeans protect my tookus more than my regular outdoorsy hiking pants.

My husband likes to say that there is not bad weather, there is only poor clothing and transportation choices.

For you.

So, I'm a consultant, and my client pays by the hour. It's kind of in-your-face when you have too do and work late because then they are paying for a cranky, over worked person who just wants to spend the weekend reading a good book for a change. Or, they could hire one and a half people and have two pleasant people…

You can acknowledge the weather and strike conversation without complaining about it.

True story: When I was about 20, my mom would take me down to college - roughly a 4 hour drive. She had just started doing financial planning for people, and she had these CD's of financial talks talking about 'the rule of 7' and compound interest and the difference and advantage of 401k's, Roth IRAs, and IRA's. …

It sounds like you did a great job at setting expectations. Really, that is huge!

I don't like to ask for help. I sometimes am afraid to show something in-progress if I'm teetering on the edge of what is generally accepted. I like to be friends with my co-workers and care about them like human beings. I'm getting better at the first two. I don't intend to change the last.

Whining about the weather. If everyone stopped, I don't know what strangers would talk about, but maybe it would be more important problems that we can do something about.

I listen to a podcast that uses the phrase, "be more gooder than badder", and while the grammar gets under my skin, that is what we're talking about here.

It sounds like you live with them, and it may be time to make some changes that signal you are a different person than you were 30 pounds ago. There was an article on Lifehacker a while back that talked about going home for the holidays and being treated like the 13 year old you were, not the 30 year old you are now.…

When we were bored as kids, my parents used to make us go out and play. "Play what?! I don't want to go outside! It's cold. No one is outside!" But we did.

Take it outside and beat it with a bat. I'm pretty sure that's what Office Space taught us.

Even with the help of friends, that isn't always a clear idea of what an over, under, or level-headed reaction would have been in given situations.

I have family members who don't always return calls, and they often defend themselves with: "I know you're busy, and didn't know when to call". I find it really annoying that they assign the word 'busy' to me. But anyway...

Our company goes into assessment mode at the beginning of the year, and this is exactly what they ask us to do. Tell the story as if the person reading it knows nothing about your particular project or situation.