Baby Its Cold Outside

12/2/07

First and foremost, even though I doubt he has ever read my blog, Happy Birthday to my hetero life partner (most of the time) Jason.

Now as I was saying in my last post, this time of year brings us the Holidays, which for the most part annoy the hell out of me. However the one aspect of this time of year which really makes me suffer like no other is the cold weather. And going to Syracuse is (short of the Univeristy of Alaska or North Pole State) is among the worst places I could be for somebody with zero patience for cold weather.

Did you ever think about how cold weather, and I'm not talking chilly with temperatures in the 40's, really impacts the way your day will play out?

Last night in Syracuse, it was 11 degrees outside. 11 degrees. Thats 21 degrees below freezing. If I had to describe how cold it was outside at any point during the day yesterday or last night, I couldn't- because I never left my room. If the temperature outside is a number lower than the number of the Knicks expected win total (which is probably 30, with 35 being generous), I keep myself inside.

And the cold weather really changes the way I function, from the time I wake up, throughout my entire day, and even when and how I fall asleep.

Starting with waking up, the first thing I do is check the temperature outside. My willingness to attend class is low to begin with as many of you know, yet if its not at least 40 degrees outside, the chances of me making it out the front door are slim and none.

If its say 30 degrees outside at the time I wake up- which on a good day is at around 10:15 (yea, be jealous for now until I'm up every morning at 6:30 when i start student teaching), I will have probably already made up my mind on the day is going to play out.

I will take a hotter than normal shower, not because my room is colder than usual- which it is- but because when looking outside the window in the shower at the people in their heavy coats, I am legitimately petrified of joining them. So with the hot water keeping me sane, I usually wind up spending an extra 15-20 minutes in the shower for the mere reason that getting out will return me to the reality that is winter in Syracuse.

So by the time I'm out of the shower, not only are my hands pruined out to death, but I have now put myself in a situation where I wouldn't be able to make it to my 11 oclock class on time anyway. Score a point for me.

So instead of going to class, I now have an entire day to get stuff done. Maybe some school work, maybe some studying for an upcoming exam or a head start on a paper.

Seriously?

I put on sweat pants and a sweat shirt and get my ass right back into bed, blanket covering me and the TV goes on from roughly 11 in the morning until the time I go to bed more than 12 hours later. Using my computer is sometimes off limits because of how close it is to the window.

Last night was another example of how the cold weather changes how I function. Syracuse was at home playing Tulane- a game which going into I had a pretty good idea we would win (which we did), yet the idea of making the walk to and from the Carrier Dome (does anybody see the irony in our sports venue bearing the name of an air-conditioning company...in a city with some of the coldest winters around?) and so watching it on TV was far more appealing.

Then after the game, I had intended to go out and do something, if nothing else just to get out of the room which i had held myself hostage in all day. Maybe even just to get something to eat.

Nope.

I ordered pita pit (if you've never been to Syracuse and have no idea what I'm talking about, you're not missing much) but after not one, but two grilled chicken pitas with lettuce, onions, green peppers, hot sauce and hummus, I was able to give myself yet another reason not to step foot outside.

And the night played out exactly that way. I never did step foot outside. I havn't seen the sun or felt a breeze since Friday night. And because its December in Syracuse, thats the way I like it.

Now of all the things about Winter in Syracuse i hate, the thing which tops them all is of course the snow.

I hate snow about as much as I hate anything else. The Yankees, Bill Bellicheck, Buy One Get One Free Sales, Car Washes where you cant sit in your car- throw snow up there.

Snow is so utterly useless. Yea some people say its pretty, yet talk to me after snow has been sitting around for a week and becomes brown. And unlike rain, which I would prefer any day of the week, snow disrupts your routine in far too many ways.

Starting with having to wear additional articles of clothing, which comes in second to having dig your car out and shovel. And the insult of it all is that by the time youre dont shoveling out your car, you have built up such a sweat that all you want to do is take off the 7 layers of clothes suffocating you. You can't wear sneakers, although for the girls the adjustment to having to throw on a pair of uggs probably doesn't case such a panic. Wait...what adjustment? Driving becomes even more dangerous if the roads havn't been salted enough, and then the salt gets all over the sides of your car which require you to have it washed twice as regularly to avoid ruining the finish.

The worst thing now is that its only the second day of December, which means its just under three weeks away until the official beginning of winter.

Then again if you know anything about Syracuse, winter begins here even earlier than the Hallmark stores start prepping for Christmas. And while winter starts early it ends late- we got a foot of snow during the second week in April last year.

Oh Syracuse, I wish I could enjoy you more this time of year, but baby- its cold outside.