Bitter Cold

Dante Alighieri wrote in The Inferno about the lowest part of Hell being a pool of ice where the wind would suck all the warmth out you. I am inclined to agree with this idea after this week. We've had a very cold time here. We had a White Christmas for the first time in a while. I am still not sure why Bing Crosby wanted one so bad. All it has done is make it even harder for my wife, my brother, and I to get to all the places we need to visit on Christmas Day. It has been cold like this for about a month now. What is interesting to note is that each year has shown a decrease in the amount of Fall & Spring weather we get here. All of a sudden it was freezing cold.

Our new house is very cold. We are looking into ways to heat the place, but I'm afraid that all alternatives will be expensive. At this point, I just want to be warm. Our landlords are working with us to try to get us fixed up. My wife and I are thankful to have landlords that care this much. I think we will be getting gas logs real soon. If they are anything like my parents gas logs, I will need to break out the summer clothes a little early. Until we get the gas logs put in, I will be sitting really close with my wife and pugs in order to stay warm.

Now we have had a bit of snow and ice this month, but what seperates cold from bitter cold is the wind. I can now go outside in 32 degree weather and not think much about it, but if the wind is blowing that cold air gets to areas of my body that only X-Rays should touch. I am literally chilled to the bone. Even my dogs show signs of this when they would rather have an accident in the house, facing a potential spanking than go outside and freeze so they can "use the bathroom."  One of the most annoying things about being so cold is the fact that I often feel like my feet are on fire when I take a shower; it is really just my feet thawing out I suppose.

With the snow and ice, travel is hindered a bit and we try to avoid the dangers of being on the roads. I was afraid that with me not getting out as much, I would lose my motivation to take a shower. I mean, who would I be trying to impress in my basement office. This could pose a problem however because my wife (even more than myself) is sensitive to odors. However, I find that the motivation to take a shower changes from not wanting to stink to wanting to warm up. The shower is the only time when I actually feel like I'm not a meat popsicle. I thaw out and can actually move a bit.

Speaking of travel, I had a fun experience just yesterday. I take pride in my inclement weather driving ability. People may be afraid of my driving ability under normal road conditions, but when bad weather occurs, I step it up and can do some amazing things. One example would be when I drove my old, little Saturn up the old ski slope at Cascade Mountain on my wedding day in two feet of snow. When I pulled into the parking lots, people were taking bets that I would get stuck trying. Now I have a new vehicle, my lovely Nissan Rouge which has all-wheel drive. Yesterday, I drove my wife to work because the ice and snow makes her nervous. I had a little trouble getting back into my drive way when I came back, but I did it. I realized at this point that it would be beneficial to have a snow shovel here at the house so that I could clear the driveway. I thought I would pick one up at the store where my wife works when I go to pick her up at the end of the day. I decided to leave a little early and go pick up the shovel. When I went to pull down the driveway, I did not notice that the snow in my front yard had drifted at the bottom of my driveway. I am trying to pull out when I hit the snow drift that was up to the frame of my car. I had not gained enough momentum to push through it, so I was stuck. Stuck at the bottom of my driveway. I called my wife to tell her I wouldn't be able to come get her, so she had someone bring her and a shovel home for me. I was so angry, my pride in my driving hurt. I started to dig the car out, and my neighbors from across the street came to help. My neighbors are really great! The only problem was that it was another blow to my fragile pride. They helped dig it out and I decided to go down the road and get some dinner. I thanked my neighbors and went to get my keys. When I came back, I found that the car was still stuck. I sat in my car, rocking the car trying to get it over the big lump of snow it had ran over. Meanwhile my wife is texting me to forget it and come inside and warm up. Yet again, bruising my pride. After about 10 minutes of fighting with the snow drift, I rocked the car over it and down the road I went, finally winning a hit for my pride.

I WILL one day live in a place where it does not snow. A place that is warm all the time. I will live in a place where the temperature only moves about 6 degrees from one season to the next. That is my paradise. Until then, everybody try to keep warm.