Winter wonderland
Sun Jan 22, 2012 23:06 (UTC -8)Last Sunday morning, I woke up and it was snowing outside. And I was like, whoa.
This was my first time seeing snow anywhere I’d actually lived. I’d only seen it on trips to DC and Russia. Seattle only gets 5.9 inches per year on average, so anytime it snows, it’s a big deal. A lot of the city shuts down because there aren’t a lot of snowplows and people don’t know how to drive in the stuff. Some people grumble and insist on going about their day as usual, but they seem to be the minority.
Anyway, as soon as I realized it was snowing, I went out on my balcony and took some pictures. I went out to breakfast at Top Pot with my friend Nick, and the snow had pretty much tapered off. But as soon as I got back to my apartment, it started coming down again. It snowed harder and harder and harder. Then Nick and I decided to go for a walk downtown while it was still snowing.
Phil Spector Christmas songs looped in my head. I was giddy. Snow makes me giddy because I missed it in my childhood, you see. It’s fun, and it’s funny—to see all these familiar sights frozen over and covered in snow. I’m not afraid to say that I made and threw snowballs. But I wasn’t the only one who was enjoying the snow. I saw three or four snowmen. Oh yeah, I also took a lot of pictures.
On Monday, most of my co-workers worked from home (that’s the great thing about having a computer-based job), so I followed suit on Tuesday; there was still a lot of snow around and nobody wanted to drive in it. On Wednesday, it snowed all day, so I worked from home again. Then, I realized that I didn’t have much of an excuse to be working from home since out of all my co-workers I’m the one who lives closest to work. So on Thursday and Friday, I was one of the few people to show up.
There was still a lot of snow around on Thursday night when Nick and I went out to celebrate his birthday, and the snow was all melty on Friday. But that night it started to get warmer, and by yesterday morning, almost all of the snow had disappeared.
It might not snow again for another year. The child in me is sad, but the adult part of me thinks it’s good that everyone will be back at work.
Here’s an interesting Lifehacker article about how to make better spending choices: The Comfort Principle.
2 comments
#1 by Erica: Mon Jan 30, 2012 07:10 (UTC -8)
So Seattle gets a lot of rain but rarely snow?
Here in Sweden we get tons of snow every year and most of us are tired of it. However, during the dark months it lightens everything up and they say suicide rate goes down if it’s a snowy winter.
#2 by Jordon Kalilich: Tue Jan 31, 2012 21:17 (UTC -8)
That’s right, Erica, Seattle’s weather is relatively mild throughout the year. I knew that sunlight could cheer people up, but I had no idea that the light reflected by snow was enough to make a difference. Maybe Seattle has it worse than some places that are farther north but get more snow.