Tuesday, November 30, 2004
T minus 18 days. Funny, but right now in J-town T could equal temperature and days would be Celsius. I'm a little upset with myself for not bringing my camera with me to work yesterday. The deep freeze turned all the trees to ice, creating a blanket of white. The trunks of the trees were brown, but all the branches were white and this was on every single tree - except for the evergreen ones. The next time this happens I will take a lot of pictures, promise.
Yesterday marked the end of an era here in J-town. I traded in my old bike for a newer and more sturdy one. It was well past due. My old bike was a trooper and I will miss its seat which was wonderfully cushy. I think that I will buy a new gelly seat today, because riding in the bitter cold is one thing, but riding in the bitter cold with a sore butt is something else altogether.
On that note, I am thinking of increasing my cold threshold for bicycling. Yesterday the temperature was about minus 15 (*9/5+32= 5 F) and it wasn't all that bad. Of course the wind wasn't blowing at all which makes a world of difference. I think that I will drop my limit from -10 to -17, which is 0 F. We'll see how long this lasts.
There are two possible explanations for this drop in temperature. The first is that I am more acclimated to the cold than I was last year. This is probable, how could it not be? The second is the fact that my new bike was rather expensive and if I can save the 5 euros a day that the bus man takes from me, after two months I will have paid off the bike. And if I still have my ears and my fingers, this will be a welcome savings.
However, a certain trip to Texas comes into play here. A trip that I am really, really looking forward to. Scott Horwitzz and Joanna are probably making their way down to Big D for a New Year's celebration, which is great news. Although the hotel Brodsky will be at full occupancy and then some. It is possible that more and more old friends will be in town for New Year's, which means that we will need to think of something to do in order to get everyone in the same place at the same time. Hmmm. If we can clear away the mountain of boxes in the house, there could be a small gathering at home. We'll see.
Speaking of that mountain. Karoliina told me to take the amount of boxes that I have imagined in my head and then to triple that. Triple?! And worse still, I am getting sucked into the action. K really wants me to get a dressy pair of jeans and so she has ordered 4 pair for me to try on when we get to Dallas and then I will keep the best (cheapest) one. She has turned the spending spree from herself to me and I don't think this is such a good idea. I know that the dollar is really weak when compared to the euro, but I think we are well beyond the exchange rate at this point. I think when the mountain of boxes crossed the timber line we were beyond the exchange rate, now that we are talking Himalaya size here I am getting more than a little concerned.
Yesterday marked the end of an era here in J-town. I traded in my old bike for a newer and more sturdy one. It was well past due. My old bike was a trooper and I will miss its seat which was wonderfully cushy. I think that I will buy a new gelly seat today, because riding in the bitter cold is one thing, but riding in the bitter cold with a sore butt is something else altogether.
On that note, I am thinking of increasing my cold threshold for bicycling. Yesterday the temperature was about minus 15 (*9/5+32= 5 F) and it wasn't all that bad. Of course the wind wasn't blowing at all which makes a world of difference. I think that I will drop my limit from -10 to -17, which is 0 F. We'll see how long this lasts.
There are two possible explanations for this drop in temperature. The first is that I am more acclimated to the cold than I was last year. This is probable, how could it not be? The second is the fact that my new bike was rather expensive and if I can save the 5 euros a day that the bus man takes from me, after two months I will have paid off the bike. And if I still have my ears and my fingers, this will be a welcome savings.
However, a certain trip to Texas comes into play here. A trip that I am really, really looking forward to. Scott Horwitzz and Joanna are probably making their way down to Big D for a New Year's celebration, which is great news. Although the hotel Brodsky will be at full occupancy and then some. It is possible that more and more old friends will be in town for New Year's, which means that we will need to think of something to do in order to get everyone in the same place at the same time. Hmmm. If we can clear away the mountain of boxes in the house, there could be a small gathering at home. We'll see.
Speaking of that mountain. Karoliina told me to take the amount of boxes that I have imagined in my head and then to triple that. Triple?! And worse still, I am getting sucked into the action. K really wants me to get a dressy pair of jeans and so she has ordered 4 pair for me to try on when we get to Dallas and then I will keep the best (cheapest) one. She has turned the spending spree from herself to me and I don't think this is such a good idea. I know that the dollar is really weak when compared to the euro, but I think we are well beyond the exchange rate at this point. I think when the mountain of boxes crossed the timber line we were beyond the exchange rate, now that we are talking Himalaya size here I am getting more than a little concerned.
// posted by Howard @ 1:09 PM 
