gnatweds

okay, I think I have managed to do almost everything that winter entails.

I've made a snow angel, pelted Eugene with snowballs, we made a mini snowman, gone snowboarding, experienced -40 deg C, been afflicted by Seasonal Affective Disorder - SAD; I've shoveled (v heavy) snow, scraped off layers of ice from the car, yanked/kicked open the frozen car door (yes, ice encrusted the thing), driven in blizzard-like conditions, spun on icy roads; gotten whacked by sleet (ouch)...

What we haven't done: Ice fishing (erhhh...); snowmobiling (hummm) and winter bonfires (dunno where).



It's very annoying when you spend almost an hour shoveling out your driveway, then hours later, you get another few inches that you need to get ff. And we realise, yes, you actually need to shovel, because otherwise the cars can't get out of the garage. One of our neighbours got stuck and Gene and a couple of others helped push the car out of the piled up snow.

We got something like 15 to 16 inches a few days ago, and it's expected to hit 21 inches by the time the current one blows over by Saturday. Oh, and there's a difference in the kind of snow you get early and late on in the season. Now, when its close to the freezing point, the white stuff is not fluffy - its very heavy and moist. Good for snowmen and snowballs but sucky for cleaning up.

Ironically, Eugene - who loves it - and says "Bring IT ON!" to snow storms is missing this massive snowfall happening right now.... he's on call at the hospital.

I jest you not when I say you couldn't see 20 m in front of you while driving. Forget road signs - can't see them, and when the road crews try to clear the streets, they leave piles as high as buildings.

Interestingly, people here pile into grocery stores and gas stations when the weatherman predicts a big snow storm. We did our own stocking up - of beer and wine.

But - wait - it's not all that bad. I take it back. On Sunday we went boarding and the stuff was so deep we sank into our knees in it and it was wonderful - and it didn't hurt at all if you wiped out.

But in the absence of sunny weather - I've started golfing lessons at the indoor golf dome across the street. Yes, when we first came, we were wondering how to procure a rocket launcher to destroy that ugly thing that we have a full view of from our home. Open the door and you see it.




But now, I reckon, maybe it's a sign that we should learn how to play the game anyway - well, it becomes a sign when you have nothing else better to learn.

I shan't make fun of golfers anymore... it's tough! Think too much and the swing goes all funny and don't think and it goes funny too. I've only swung at balls (very cathartic, this whacking balls thing) for two lessons... but it's actually kind of fun. Gasp. But I dunno, it seems a pretty tough game man, its just so counter-intuitive, your left arm is dominant when you wanna whack the ball, and usually, you'd want to use your right arm to send it to the rafters. Ah well.

This has definitely been a year for learning new things - snowboarding, golfing, yoga, proper swimming techniques. I should be grateful, I don't think I would have been able to dabble in all this if I were working back home. But in a strange, strange way, I do miss my working life very badly. It's very human to not like something when you're in the thick of it, but when you're not, you miss it and think it was brilliant. Like school, and work, and Singapore. Hahaha. In a few months, I'll prolly miss the carefree(er) life I'm currently leading here in Rochester huh?

Think this is the epitomy of the phrase "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"...