Bah

This is my car. When I went to bed last night, I could still see the entire car.

I can't anymore.

You can't tell from the photo (which, by the way, was taken only a few minutes ago), but the snow's still falling. Pretty, huh.

Yeah, whatever.

What you don't see is the forecast, which is telling me that this afternoon the winds are going to pick up and we'll have near-zero visibility and windchills somewhere around -25C. You also don't see that this storm started when it was still reasonably warm, so there's a layer of ice under everything.

WONderful.

*Insert expletive here* do I hate winter.

But Dee, you say, you live in Canada. It's winter all the time there. How can you hate winter when you've grown up with things that way?. Well, first of all, it's not winter all the time here, and at least where I live winter doesn't often look like this. It can be pretty cold, yes, but unlike Canadians to the east of us we don't often have to put up with cold and a pile of snow at the same time.

Um... sheesh. And just when I was working myself up to a good ol' snit, computer hang-up. Well, let's see if we can pick things up now that I've rebooted (and thank Whomever for autosave since I didn't completely have to start from scratch).

Where was I? Oh yeah. Hating winter.

For me, lots of snow has the same inconveniences as for everyone else with one glaring addition. I am, honestly and truly, allergic to the cold. For those new to the program, yes it's really possible to be allergic to the cold (it's called cold-induced urticaria, if you want to look it up. I'm not in linky mood today). There's a whole group of physical sensitivities like that: there are people who get hives from contact with cold, with heat (and I'm not talking heat rash here -- I mean really being allergic to the heat)... even from contact with water.

Yes, it's all pretty weird. But the human body's a complicated thing, and sometimes it gets set off by the unexpected.

Anyway, what this all means in regards to today's photo is that some may look at it and say "ahhh. Pretty." Some might wonder what the skiing's like. Some might be more pessimistic and figure that the roads are going to be crap. Me? I know (know, yes. Doesn't matter how many layers I wear; there has to be exposed skin somewhere, and that's enough to start things) that I'll have a reaction while I'm clearing off the car. If I'm lucky I'll just be itchy and swollen. If I'm not lucky it'll be worse and there'll be so much swelling that my blood pressure will go down. I have to admit that I've been very lucky in that I've never had a severe enough reaction to have it be life-threatening, but I do have bad enough reactions to feel like hell for hours afterwards.

What a stupid, stupid allergy to have in this country.

Ah well. What can a person do besides cope or move to Belize?







And if any of my two fans would like to contribute to my Belize fund...

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On a related note, and I'm asking this out of pure curiosity, for those of you who don't swell up like a balloon, what does a cold day feel like? Is it exhilarating? There must be a reason that people like to be out for winter sports, right? Is it painful? I really, honestly don't know. I mean, there was a time in my life when I could be out in the cold like a normal person (I didn't start reacting until I was nearly ten, and I'll have to blather out that story sometime), but it was long enough ago now that I really can't remember what it's like to just be cold without having to worry about the rest of the baggage I carry.

Oh, and for those of you in Europe who aren't used to the type of winter from hell that you've been blessed with this year, my sympathies. Really.

Winter sucks.