Monday, November 16, 2009

Update on the cold

Despite the rain and frigid temps, I went this afternoon to play tennis. Having some physical activity actually helped - got the blood pumping.

The forecast calls for a low of -1 tonight, and a high of 2 tomorrow.

The return of winter is quite a trial for me. I hate grumbling and complaining. I try to avoid it when possible. It's just not healthy for the soul. But my weakness is the cold. I hate being cold. And for the last few days, the cold has been near-constant. I seem to have inherited my father's poor circulation, so my hands and feet never seem to get warm. It seems strange, since the rare sub-freezing day of Chengdu is nothing compared to the prolonged winter chill of the Midwest. But here, there is no respite. The heaters make life inside bearable, but they do not make it warm. Thus I bundle and wait for the spring.

There is one bright spot - bed. Our electric blanket and thick Ikea comforter emerged from storage yesterday. So after a day full of chilled toes and frozen fingers, I slip under the covers. My skin absorbs the warmth. My muscles relax. A smile comes across my face. And I commence 8 hours of unmitigated, joyful, warm rest.

I suppose that the degree of cold makes relief from it all the more sweet.

Now let's see if that snow in the forecast comes true or not...and dream of the UAE...

-alan

2 comments:

Eric and Liz said...

I would like to point out that, as you are clearly listing your temperatures in C, you had better seriously suck it up. We had -19 F here in Chicago last year. You would have died. Literally.
Regarding your fruit flies...perhaps that would be a good excuse for a heat lamp, no?
Give R. a hard time for avoiding me on Skype and tell her she owes me a chat when she gets home from S.

the allmens said...

Your lack of sympathy is duly noted, and unappreciated. Until you have experienced winter here, I should expect no further sass from Chicago. I had 20+ years of Midwestern winters, so I know what cold is. This is cold.

In Chicago, I never had to go to work in long underwear, a T-shirt, dress shirt, wool sweater, and sport coat. I'm warm, but I feel 20 pounds heavier.