YEAH, DUDE. I'm with you. I have also been spending winter nights eating ice cream and crying about why my ex-wife left me alone with greying hair, that plant I'll never be able to take care of, and ever-growing moobs*.
Why? Why do I live in a state with winter? Like many well-rounded people, I used to enjoy the variety of the seasons: the colors and comfort of autumn, the vibrancy and beauty of spring, the fun and warmth of summer, the majestic wonderlandment of winter. But, now, oh no no no. It is all over. My love for winter has faded with my paling skin color and rotting joie de vivre.
It's too cold. Too cold to go outside and exercise or walk around and chat / sunbathe / take pictures / run errands / read in the grass / go for nice, long rides / window shop / watch the ducks / go to MOBOT / people watch / explore curbs, alleys, and dumpster dive. Too cold to get a table outside or have a drink on the porch. Too cold not to wear a dozen layers, including many a petticoat or long john. Too cold not to eat whatever is lying around all the time, since it's too cold to get into yr cold, cold car with crappy heat to do something that won't even take long enough to warm up the car. Too cold not to bitch and moan constantly about how it's too cold to do anything until a general sense of loathing is set so deep, you forget that there was anything about the day that you enjoyed.
Being good at winter used to be a special talent of mine. Layering up to enjoy the solitude of the cold was an activity in which I was heavily invested. Cities behave so differently when left alone; this picture is from a visit to Buffalo, NY in 2008. I ambled around the downtown area for a better part of this day. Fantastic architecture was quietly planted on every block, but never too far from skeletal buildings lacking doors and windows pleading for attention and redevelopment. It defined winter in a way for me that I doubt I'll ever experience again; the cold bears proof that if you can survive it, the only thing you ever need is yourself.
*Neither he, nor I, in fact possess any moob-like qualities.
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