Our weather is downright bizarre.

It's so unseasonably warm that I haven't worn a jacket or turned on the heat in almost a week. As I strolled down Main Street in town earlier today, I came across a gaggle of carolers dressed in old-school Charles Dickens garb, singing Christmas favorites. Somehow, listening to "Oh, the weather outside is frightful" just doesn't have the same impact when it's 51 degrees. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 59, and Monday it's going to rise to 61. Frightful, indeed.

However, this nutty weather has helped eliminate what was going to be a difficult decision - whether or not to go skiing tomorrow. Every year, my cousin and I hit Vermont for a few days before Christmas. It's always a great time to go - the conditions are usually good and the mountain is usually empty because the kids are in school and everyone's too busy getting ready for the holidays to hit the slopes.

But earlier this week, I injured my neck and shoulder so badly (don't bother asking how - I have no idea, although the Professor insists it's an eggnog-related injury) I was having chest pains and experiencing numbness in my left hand and arm. I'm a veteran of neck and shoulder pain, but this is a whole different level. I have used the word "agony" to describe my condition at least 20 times this week. I wound up at the family doctor, who poked and prodded and subjected me to an EKG to make sure the numbness wasn't caused by anything heart-related. That all came back fine, so it was off to my chiropractor, who diagnosed a horribly (my word) pinched nerve.

It's been so unbelievably painful I considered skipping last night's holiday gathering at our dive bar with my favorite group of clowns. But I'm no quitter, so I sucked it up and headed out. And thank god I did, because I would have missed two wonderful karaoke performances - the Sandman giving me an early present with a fine rendition of "Jersey Girl" and a quartet of two short Italians and two Jewish men teaming up for a heart-warming version of Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Good times!

Anyway, given my tenuous medical situation, I knew skiing was a bad idea. If I were to fall, which is highly likely given my lack of athletic conditioning of late, it could kill me. Despite that, if the conditions were great, I'd have considered still going. Fortunately, the mushy slush that's resulted from the recent warm weather made it easy to postpone the trip.

But this means we have to come up with a Plan B to fill the next few days. We're looking at quick daily road trips and I have a few ideas. I'll let you know what we come up with.