Winter weather gets me down
The exciting life of the pretend-a-freshman
By Aisha Stern, blogger
February 22, 2008 | 6 a.m.
I have done my best to not complain too much about the weather the past few weeks, but now I am done with that. Done. Finished. Over it. To quote whichever politician -- I am taking the gloves off.
This whole 'winter' thing can bite me.
Snow and ice and wind look all sweet and innocent when you're happily curled up in your house every day, but when you are actually bearing those elements, you find out that all the visual characteristics of winter shield a cruel, cold heart. This façade is one that has had me nearly falling over on more than one occasion, filling my shoes with slush and making my ears ache and buzz in protest.
If I could have back all of my birthday wishes for the past 18 years, I would use them to will my parents to move somewhere sunny and warm, like Arizona or Florida. Sure, they have droughts and hurricanes, but at least they don't have black ice.
Of course, this regular exchange of seasons wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for those days that keep popping up. You know those lovely, warm days where seeing a person in shorts and flip-flops doesn’t make me wonder how long they plan on keeping all 10 of their toes. I seem to remember toes being the opposite of baby teeth -- if they fall off, you don't get your grown-up ones later.
Ah, but those warm days. They are so terrible. I completely hate them because they are here for a day, maybe two, just long enough that I start to get used to feeling warm without wearing a heavy coat. It's like driving all the way to the beach, getting to take your shoes off and burying your toes in the sand for a grand total of five minutes before a storm blows in, causing your family to herd everyone back into the car and back home.
I just want many days in a row of warm sunshine. Not a few, but many. I want 60-degree days more than I want chocolate or coffee or bubble baths. Forget getting excited over puppies and babies -- I will get ridiculously happy over five straight days of warm sunshine.
The only thing that I might get more excited over is not being sick. The minute the weather shifts from cold to really cold, I always seem to get a cold that I struggle to shake off. This year isn't any different. At the beginning of the quarter, I remember telling my boyfriend about the many, many people who seemed to be coughing, sneezing or sniffling in my classes, so much so that they were almost a symphony of noises.
Three weeks into the quarter, I joined this 'symphony,' meaning I am one of those lovely people who sniffle their way through a two-hour-long lecture. I blame the weather for this, much as I'll blame it for pretty much anything until spring starts. Power goes out the night before an exam? Winter's fault. Shoes get soaked running from Morton to Bentley? Winter's fault. Roads so icy I get to class 10 minutes late? Say it with me now: "Winter's fault."
I have a feeling winter and I aren't going to be best buddies anytime soon.
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For more from the mind of Aisha Stern, check out her regular blog at fusionofMe.blogspot.com.
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