Stories for my friends - Tips for strangers.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

From January 3

I have been here for two full days now. Still living out of a suitcase, I feel in a lot of ways like I am on vacation. This needs to change – I must chase the feeling away tomorrow with a combination of reality (the job search is underway) and with more bitter cold. In the process of catching up with some old friends, I have had some great pizza, been to a comedy show, and Alan and I have tickets for the Colbert Report tomorrow. It is easy to feel like I'm on vacation when there are so many fun things going on, and there will always be things like this going on, as I understand it. I guess it’s all in how you balance everything. Even though lots of what I have gotten to do is free, I would still like to supplement it with some income. I think Amber would appreciate that, too.

Temperature has been a serious factor here. Yesterday, for example, was around 20 degrees at its lowest, with gusts anywhere from 30 to 50 mph. Weather sources say it felt like 6 degrees today. I, having never experienced anything that cold, would agree. It’s not all bad, though. Two consecutive days with snow in them is a real treat for someone who grew up in coastal South Carolina (it snowed there, once) and who has spent the last 6 years in Florida. I love how it snows in the city. Something about the way the wind moves through it, the snow flurries more than it falls (unless it’s really coming down hard, then it snows sideways and shoots into your eyes). As miserable as I might be by the end, I am really looking forward to this winter.

This cold weather has had me thinking about peoples’ motives for living in an area like this. I understand that people move to large urban areas in the northeast for work. What I want to understand is why people set up shop here in the first place (well before New York became a city). Maybe it had to do with trade (we’re closer to northern Europe than the South?) I am looking forward to researching it, and I will get back to you. For now, I say they should have all moved to Florida. It’s usually warmer down there.

All for now. Thank you for reading. Also, I expect to start posting some pictures soon.

2 comments:

Kathy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kathy said...

I believe it was in the 20s in Gainesville this morning, so even your Florida friends are feeling the cold.
We will be praying that the job hunt goes well. I'm quite sure that Amber (and her parents) expect you to be gainfully employed prior to the wedding.