Have a dreary day!

pathetic fallacy

noun

the endowment of nature, inanimate objects, etc., with humantraits and feelings, as in the smiling skies; the angry sea.

What I learned in my creative writing classes was that pathetic fallacy is a dangerous literary tool. On one hand, it can be used to set the tone of a story or enhance the plot. On the other hand, it can come out sounding like some cheap, corny way to patronize the reader by letting them know what they're supposed to be thinking and feeling at that given time (much like the role of music in movies).

Quite often, when using pathetic fallacy with the weather, it's meant to reflect the mood of the story, or a specific character. Take a look at "Weather as Pathetic Fallacy and Foreshadowing in Great Expectations." Or I can sum it up for you: In one passage the weather was shit and the character was feeling like shit. In the next passage, the weather is described as "delicious" and the character was feeling better.

I try my best to be optimistic. Honestly, I do. Even through the first part of this winter in Taipei, when the weather has been cold and drizzly almost every day, I'm the first to remind everyone that "Hey, at least it doesn't snow here," or "Next Tuesday is supposed to clear up!" I've been complimented on my positive outlook, which I'm proud of because I'm a big believer butterfly effect/pay it forward type things. If I don't grumble, maybe other people will stop grumbling?

But what the hell am I supposed to do when I wake up and my HTC Incredible S tells me the weather in Taipei City today is "Dreary?"

The current weather for Taipei was "Dreary" from 7:30 AM to at least 10:30 PM.

Type "dreary definition" into Google, and you'll find that dreary is defined as an adjective meaning "Dull, bleak, lifeless; depressing."

Huh? Is that referring to the clouds? The temperature? Since when is the weather a matter of opinion?

I can't believe the day after New Year's Day, the first working day of 2012, is forecast to be "depressing" and "lifeless"? To top it off, it was Monday! How the hell are you supposed to pull yourself out of bed when even your phone has a case of the Mondays? Screw any resolutions I had; I'll start eating healthy and exercising next year! Maybe the weather won't be so bleak.

If I was hanging on by a thread, I would have definitely chosen this day to be my last. But I'm not, and I actually saw this "Dreary" day as an opportunity to ride my bicycle to work. I didn't get to ride it once last week because it rained every day.

I resisted HTC's effort to impose pathetic fallacy on my life story and actually had a very pleasant Monday. Not a dreary moment. I know these are supposed to be "smart" phones, but shouldn't they stick to traditional, more objective weather words like "cloudy" and "overcast?" If not, I hope in the future I wake up to "uplifting" and "cheerful" days.

Anyway, Happy New Year everybody! Hope you're having great weather!