Today is a more correct definition.
It was about -13˙F when I went out today at 9:45. I mean, that's mid-morning, y'all. It was apparently about -30˙F even earlier today in some places. And this is all not including windchill. Yes, we're talking a windchill of -29˙F when I left at 9:45. I will leave it up to your imagination how cold it felt even earlier.
This cold, northy business definitely has the capability to incapacitate you and lock you in your gloomy house with your glum feelings and a runny nose. If that is all you think winter is, think again, wimps. Oh, it's true, the Winter Blues are basically a legit disease around here, but if you discover the traces of them early enough, well, there's a change that if you are ready to put up a fight, them blues can be chased away, at least to the corners of the room.
I figured with such a cold day today that I would succumb to such a gloomy fate. But as luck would have it, this has been a downright lovely day so far, and it's only 1:30. I had to give up plans of going to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts with a couple of old chums today, just because busing in this cold is risky business, especially when you're not sure how often your bus will come, or if you'll get a heated bus stop. I was only out at my school bus stop about 5 minutes today, and it was no picnic.
So therefore, I have been distracting myself with other entertainments.
As I rode the 3C across the Washington Ave. Bridge today, I looked out to see a rare and lovely sight. The Mississippi River was steaming. Perhaps this happens more in the early morning, but I sure don't see it much. It looked like a pilgrimage of water sprites slow dancing through the sun struck ice crystals of a winter morning. There was something so hypnotizingly magical about it all, and I only got to see it for a few seconds. But that was enough to give me the impression that this was going to be a good and beautiful day.
After learning about ancient Mesopotamian and Harappan art (cultures I take great interest in, too) for 50 minutes, I moseyed out of my lecture hall on West Bank and tried to decide what to do with myself. I had nowhere to be, and the day was mine.
I ended up walking through the tunnel system to Wilson library, where I sifted through the pile of free maps in the sub-basement Map Library that I often haunt. I pulled out a map of the Kingdom of Sikkim, located between Tibet and India, and now basically a part of India, and a map of New Brunswick. Satisfied with my acquisitions, I moved upstairs to browse through the fairy tale and mythology sections. Don't laugh, yo. I decided one of the best ways to embrace the heavy hand of winter is to do it old school. I picked up a copy of fairy tale summaries in French, and another book filled with Norse Legends. Like yesterday, I think a good way to really enjoy the cold it to do it like the Scandinavians do. So I plan to retire tonight, and listen to Sigur Rós and read my Norse mythology, while the sub-zero temperatures whirl around just outside my walls. Throw in a cup of chamomile, and the deal's complete. I've been drinking a lot of that, as I think I've been coming down with a little cold. Surprise.
Nonetheless, embracing winter is the most basic of Northern survival tacts. So many things are very pleasant about winter. It's not just slush and ice and sad crap. Nope.
How about I make a list for you gloomy folks out there of things you can do to try and lessen you woes, eh?
It'll be posted [here].
Audios.
Songs of the Day:
Anything Norse, really.
The BQE Soundtrack by Sufjan Stevens
classical/jazz radio, too
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