It has begun

Well it feels as though winter is finally here. I woke up this morning and it was -13 C (8 F) outside...yeah, I don't really like that so much. It's not that I can't take the cold, I just don't enjoy it. The only sick pleasure I get in winter is walking across campus in the freezing cold without bothering to grab a jacket before I leave the building, I know a number of you have seen me do this. It's not that I'm trying to be macho or anything like that, though I do enjoy the stunned looks I get from those dressed for Arctic expeditions. But I really only do it because I can, I don't want to have to take the time to get bundled up for a walk of less than one minute across the quad. And the reality is that though my skin does get cold, my core temperature never even dips and within moments of getting indoors I feel normal, if not hot again.

I'm not oblivious to the risks and dangers of being out in the cold. After all, I've been on bike rides where my dilute Gatorade drinks have frozen to slush. If you know anything about the influence of salt and sugar on freezing points you realize how cold that would need to be. The worst instance was an early spring ride. I became so cold on the ride (and I was bonking as well) that once I got back to the bike shop it took me 10 minutes before my body had adsorbed enough heat to allow it to shiver again! Mostly though on late fall and early spring rides I would simply end up with very cold feet and possibly a jaw that was frozen to the point where I couldn't articulate words properly. Which incidentally makes it really hard to ask a store clerk for a book, even more so when you are trying to speak French (I remember holding my jaw for a couple of minutes that time in an attempt to defrost it faster).

One of my biggest annoyances in the winter though has to be the fact that I wear glasses. If you have the miss fortune of requiring corrective lenses and do not wear contact lenses and live in a northern climate you know exactly what the problem is. For those who haven't had the joy allow me to paint a picture for you:

You finally get to your destination after walking outside in the freezing cold for a few minutes, it's going to be great to get inside and defrost, meet up with your friends in the bar and enjoy an otherwise unpleasant day. Now the moment you step in the door you have about 0.2 seconds to survey the entire place and find a safe path to your friends, because after that window of opportunity your windows to the world will be covered in frost. See all the happy warm-bodied people are kicking off a lot of water vapour, and it's going to decide to condense on your glasses. I actually remember it being so bad on the high school bus that I was actually able to pick off small sheets of ice from my lenses.

Now this year is the first time since high school that I will be forced to take the bus to work (well I could walk, but that's just stupid). So I'm curious to see what will happen this winter. I've already mentioned the number of 'interesting' people I've seen on my bus, I just hope I don't sit in someones lap. But judging by my fortunes this morning, when I managed to wing my face on the Plexiglas shield near the driver (I'm sure he's glad it was there), I'm betting that I'm going to have some interesting stories about my bus rides (oh, and sadly my glasses weren't frosted this morning).