July 04, 2006

Cold Schmold

I have officially decided that cold weather is NOT where it's at. But like most things with me, there's a back story that makes this epiphany all the more groundbreaking.

When I was a little kid in good 'ole Fresno, California, my brother and I saw snow once a year. It was wonderful. Right around Christmas every year, we would pile in the car and drive to the mountains for an afternoon of playin' in the snow. We would throw snowballs, we would make snow angels and snow men, but by far my favorite was the discovery of yellow snow. Once I figured out that even I could make yellow snow, it became one of the great highlights of my year. If you know me very well, you probably know that I'm not exaggerating.

When I was 9 years old, we moved to Switzerland for a year and a half to learn French. I probably don't need to tell you about my snowful activites there; after all, it's Switzerland. Swiss Alps, Saint Bernards, yodeling. It was great. I learned how to ski, I learned how to ice skate... I learned how to do most anything you can do with snow and/or ice.

Then we moved to West Africa. Not much snow there, as you can probably imagine. I became acclimated to the heat, and an 85º morning during the rainy season called for a plethora of clothing layers. After almost eight years of that, I somehow yearned for colder weather. Oh, how I missed miles upon miles of whiteness blanketing the landscape. I yearned for igloos and bright pink snow boots. But alas, such things did not exist in our parts.

I made a vow to myself that I would appreciate every minute of cold winter weather once I returned to America. * Note to self: That was stupid and naïve. Never again shall I make such a vow. *

Today is the 4-year anniversary of my family having returned to the States. I still feel unsettled and restless, but I mostly feel that way during the winter. Granted, Eugene isn't the coldest place in the world, but compared to Africa it can get pretty flippen cold. The weather has been warmer the last few weeks, and I'm starting to feel more at home. More comfortable in my skin, because my skin isn't brittle from frozenness.

My problem is that once my core temperature dips below a certain level, it can take weeks – nay – even months, to bring it back up. This results in seemingly endless spells of misery as the pain of the cold kills me slowly from the outside in. If you've spent much time with me, you've probably heard me scream "OWWWWW!!!!" a time or two in reaction to something cold. That's because the feeling of cold is a painful one to me, not in a typical achey or stingy kind of way, but in a cold kind of way.

I'm sorry, Cold. I tried to like you. I even tried to love you. I missed you when I didn't have you, but now I realize that not having you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I think we should start seeing other temperatures. I'm going with the warm to hot range, you can have the other ones.

Bottom line, cold is overrated. The end.

3 Comments:

At July 05, 2006 10:39 AM, Blogger Arias Family said...

Just wait till you come to Cali in a few weeks. 110 temps!!!!! p.s since you love indie bands, download penelope by pinback. they're from san diego!

 
At July 05, 2006 10:40 AM, Blogger Arias Family said...

i would say let's hit the border while you're here, and we can have fun in mexico, but my trailblazer is no more.. it's in the hospital for qutie some time... :(

 
At July 06, 2006 5:38 PM, Blogger Arias Family said...

i think that myspace sucks. i love blogspot.

 

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