Katy: I already got a card, so you don’t need to worry about that! Just the gift … :)
Alex: Got it! It’s on my calendar. I’ll storm my brains.
K: Be careful during that brainstorm. If it’s really intense, there may be lightening and high winds!
Tomorrow is the last day of dental school before my longest break for my entire 4 year tenure: 10 weeks! 10 consecutive, glorious weeks without having to go to school. Later summer breaks are substantially shorter… about 3 weeks at most.
The forecast for my last day of school? 93°F. And thunderstorms.
It’s snowing this morning. April Fool’s!
Oh, wait…
Me: I wonder if this giant snowstorm was Mother Nature’s version of an April Fool’s joke.
Chris: Maybe.
Me: Well if it was, I don’t get it.
Chris: Me neither.
I want summer so badly I can barely contain myself. I mean, I can’t remember ever having pre-spring fever with this intensity. I day-dream about going outside without a protective covering of down, wool, and leather. Dimly, I remember a time when it was still light at 9pm and the warmth of the day lingered through leisurely dinners on patios. Tennis, running, basketball. Swimming holes, lawn sprinklers, sunburns.
Windchills made it to 40 below this morning.
Forecast for tomorrow: “Bitterly cold. Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High near 0F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.” That’s a high of -18°C.
With blizzard-like conditions, sub-zero windchills, 1/4 mile visibility, and 2-4 inches of snow forecast, we’ve got the recipe for a tasty pre-winter weather treat! Unfortunately, the weather outside is frightful because some people still have some place to go. For example: Mykala is alone in Saint Paul waiting to pick her parents up from the airport. They’ve been delayed and rerouted to Iowa — I hope everything works out A-O.K. In the meantime, I’ll be here wrapping presents, thinking about taking an indoor run, and eagerly anticipating Christmas tomorrow. Perhaps Mykala and I will even play a digital game of Scrabble in which she’ll spell auditors on a triple word score with a 50 point bonus for using all 7 letters. We will see.
S’from my Dad … it has really grown on me lately. Possibly because the daytime highs have been around -2 degrees F.
I had this fantastic shot of lightening, but it got overexposed so all you see is this purple flash of light. This is the next best one, unfortunately.
This snowstorm is the reason we had school off. Thank you so very much, snow.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like WCCO Channel 4 News. It is the number one rated newscast in the Twin Cities, as it well should be. Consider one of its competitors, Fox 9 news, which has reported on (and aired “teaser” portions promoting) such life-changing issues as school bus drivers not showing up to work, rusty fire hydrants, and what your pets do when you leave the house. The pets piece was actually advertised on the radio the day that ground-breaking investigative masterpiece aired. Oh, and if you are wondering how Fox 9 cracked the mystery of what pets do: hidden cameras. Wow.
Holiday snow made being inside cozy this long weekend.
I stepped out into the weather after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Mykala; we had accidentally attended the lovely candle-lit, whitish tablecloth affair put on by Saint Thomas Food Service. Standing at the marble porch of Murray Herrick Center, I briefly contemplated the mix of snow and rain fighting for a majority of the precipitation. I swept loose fall slush from my handlebars and seat, stooping to unlock my bicycle. As I struggled to pop the frozen lock, I heard a heavily accented voice from behind me, “So confusing!” I turned slightly, seeing a young man from Africa walking past. I realized he had been talking to me. He added, “… just don’t know what to make of it.”
Going to the Union Gospel Mission was a good thing. For once I had the chance to volunteer without counting it for hours for any clubs or organization. I never really feel like it is volunteering if I am doing it to fulfill hours. We helped pack bags (great duffels donated by Land’s End) with personal care items for the mission’s annual Christmas outreach. I did, for the record, get my hand slammed into a car door. However, it did not even bleed, and it still plays piano fine, so things are well. Later on, it will probably go something like this: “Remember when we went to the Union Gospel Mission?” “Oh yeah, you got your hand slammed into a door.” laughter