Allegorically Speaking

See if you can guess what I'm talking about here...

Play along with me. Imagine you can sometimes see things in slow motion. Imagine someone is standing in front of you, and they have brought their hand back to slap the holy bejeezus out of you right in your face. As you watch their hand slowly arcing toward your cherubic cheek, you can judge that although the slap started slow, as it drew nearer and nearer toward your face, you can tell it picked up speed and force.

While you're standing there watching it, you have time to think. Ultimately you decide, "Well, how bad is it going to be? It's just a slap." You know it's coming. You know how bad it's going to hurt. Since you can see things in slow motion, you have the ability to duck. But you don't. You figure you'll just go ahead and let it hit.

Then it hits. Everything speeds up back to normal and you get spun around and knocked on the floor. You stand back up. Your face is stinging like crazy and you start to feel the swelling from the hit.

Then the slow motion kicks back in again, and here comes the other hand. Just like before, it starts slow, but builds up speed and force just like the first one. EXACTLY like the first slap. The first slap was a helluva blow. The second slap looks to be the same.

Now, what did you learn from not ducking the first time? Are you prepared for the second slap? Do you duck the second slap? Of course you do! Hell, you could've ducked the first one, but you were cocky. You ignored it. Oh, you knew the first slap was coming. You were aware of it. But, in the end, you ignored it. You don't want to get knocked on the floor again. This time, you're paying more attention. This time you're taking the slaps more seriously.

In fact, you were openly criticized for not ducking the first slap. People from all over stood in slackjawed wonderment and confusion that you let the first slap hit. If it could've been avoided; if you had the ABILITY to avoid the slap, and yet didn't do it, then people would rightly assume that you were either a masochist and you let the slap hit on purpose, or you are, in fact, mentally deficient.

Ah, but not this time. Here comes the second slap. You're ready. You're all set to duck at just the right moment. If you duck this time, you'll be a hero and maybe you can forget about that whole not-ducking-for-the-first-slap business. It'll be great. You'll feel much better about yourself.

Now, here's the question. Is the allegory in reference to ...

A) ... Hurricane Rita (or as I like to call it, "Hurricane 2: Messing With Texas" ... [rated R]) and the disaster preparedness (specifically on the Federal Government's part) going on as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico, gaining strength to a Catagory 4, and poised to slam into the Texas coast (redundantly rehashing the plot of last month's original blockbuster "HURRICANE!")?

or

B) ... my dating life.

You pick.