Posted by noa on February 18, 2003, at 11:59:13
In reply to My guess is the Boston area » noa, posted by Kar on February 18, 2003, at 1:40:44
Sorry, I won't divulge where I am--part of my paranoia about someone being able to identify me. I also once lived in an area where the lawn chair/ trash can thing was part of the winter scene. It was funny! And annyoing, of course. But I understood it in a way because there is nothing more frustrating than spending a day digging your car out of an on-street parking space only to come home from work and not find a space you can get into becuase of the snow. I think at some point, some towns have passed ordinances against the lawnchair practice.
I loved the snow as a child. I remember the first time being annoyed by it was at age 17, when I was already a driver. But it was just a mild annoyance, and only memorable because it was the first time I was annoyed at the arrival of winter, and I think it was the cold temps I was not looking forward to, mostly. Interestingly, though, at 16, when I first learned to drive and got my license, I took drivers ed (it used to be given for free in school!!) in the winter, and the road test for my license (the MV guys came to the school to test us) was actually in a snowstorm!! So I was unusual among most peers in that I was not afraid of driving in the snow.
As a child, I had to help shovel the sidewalk and our very long driveway. I remember minding that some, but not enough to dislike the snow. During snow storms and when there was a lot of snow on the ground, my older brother, who had a huge paper route, would pay me to help him, especially on Sundays, when the papers were bigger. I seem to remember it being a mandatory job for me to help, not an option! LOL. BTW, now that I think of it, it is amazing to me how hard my brother worked on his paper route every single day and he was quite young (10-13, I think).
I actually still like snow somewhat, but you are right about how the pace of life matters. Snow just doesn't go with this hectic, urban pace we have. I would love for things to slow down somewhat. Also, one thing I hate is rescheduling work stuff. It really taxes my organizational skills. My time management skills are not great, and once I am able to schedule things and get a sense of when I can get things done, it makes me anxious to have to re-do the scheduling and double up stuff that has to get done, etc. etc. Kind of inflexible, and I know I have to go with the flow, and I do, but inside, it makes me anxious.
Another thing that I think makes wintery weather hard is population density. Where I grew up (and also when I grew up), the population wasn't as dense as it is now and in the place I live now. Many more cars on the road, etc.
But snow is pretty, it's true. And I used to enjoy the occasional skiing I would do. I was never very good at it (not enough experience) and it was rather expensive for my early career budget, but I loved the feeling of being up on the snowy mountain, and skiing down. I also used to have a friend who had a family house on a northern lake, and we would go there to ski, both at local mountains, but also xc skiing right on the lake (where the ice-fishing houses were!). In graduate school, I went away to a mountain ski resort for a few days with a bunch of friends, renting a cabin, and we had the best time! We skiied (I only did xc that time) played in the snow, building a snow family, sat in the hot tub, sat by the fireplace, watched a dog sled race. It was great.
Update--the sun is melting the snow on my car a bit--I can see the side windows!
As for the water--I keep the water in the trunk all the time, just carrying in each gallon as needed. Yes, it expands when it freezes, but I haven't had it explode yet. Maybe the containers are more flexible than the soda bottle?
poster:noa
thread:201200
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030215/msgs/201505.html