The winter is starting to get to me. It isn't the snow that is a problem, nor is it the blustery wind (though that does seem to cause its own problems). What really gets to me is when the temperature dips below zero. I can handle things in the tens or even the single digits, because then it is at least somewhat decent. The slush is frozen and I can walk on it without getting my shoes soaking wet on Chicago near Michigan Avenue.
This past week we got a huge blast of arctic air and our temperatures plummeted between -2 and -51, depending on the windchill. On Thursday when I woke up it was -20 (not including windchill) and I had to cover all my skin or risk getting frostbite in the five minute walk to the train platform before getting under the heat lamps. You know it is bad when, walking home eight hours later, the temperature rose to -7 (not including windchill) and I think to myself "Oh, it's actually not that cold!" Tim and I have a favorite webcomic that we read everyday called XKCD. This past week we have been between "F**********k" and "Spit goes Clink" on this scale: XKCD comic: Converting to Metric .
I've learned that Tim and I can live with the cold air as long as it isn't windy. Chicago is great because the streets are often built on a grid, going North/South and East/West. This is a good thing when the winds are going one direction, and you are travelling/walking in another. The buildings block out some of the wind and you get this lovely buffer of cold (but not blowy) air. Unfortunately for me, I often seem to be travelling in the same direction as the wind is blowing, so I freeze. The apartment is warm, but not really warm enough for me. Our radiators work, but I can't feel the heat coming from them. It's about 60-65 degrees in our apartment but even then, we have to wear socks and sweatshirts and have blankets on us in order to feel warm enough and comfortable enough to move around without being cold. Our apartment is on the second floor (thank goodness!) because the ground floor has terrible drafts that make my hands turn icy when doing the laundry for more than two minutes.
I think I'm ready for the air to heat up just a little bit. Wind I can deal with, as long as it is above 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It was 14 degrees yesterday and I was really happy, because it was warm enough to snow. It was "not that cold," and I felt totally ridiculous for saying it. Perhaps it will warm up a little soon. If we stay in the high 20s or low 30s, I'll be happy. We will see what happens over the next month or so.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Year Adventures
Our New Year was actually quite anti-climactic. The only thing we really did was stay up late to watch the clock turn over and have a midnight kiss. We missed the ball dropping in New York for New Year's ET (eastern time) edition, but to be honest we didn't really care much. There's YouTube for stuff like that, I guess.
I was getting frustrated because Kathy Griffin really annoys me, and we were watching CNN because both of us like Anderson Cooper quite a bit. So after that, we went to bed and slept for several hours. It was very relaxing. We got up at around 9:30 the next day and met our friend Glenn (one of our groomsmen), his girlfriend and our friend Chevalia. We hopped a Metra train to Naperville, and we went to a little hole in the wall place for lunch (had the trains been running, Glenn and Chevalia would have watched those) and to watch the Outdoor Hockey game at Wrigley field between Detroit Redwings and the Chicago Blackhawks.
We were not the only ones there watching the game, and the Chicagoans were getting really angry about the Blackhawks losing. However, I was scared because our Michigander visitors were totally rooting for the Redwings, and not being as quiet as I would have liked. The train ride was really fun because we got to ride a double-decker and we just whooped it up the whole way there and back. When we got back to Chicago they had to get on their Amtrak to Grand Rapids so we said our goodbyes and we took the "L" home.
Tim and I caught some fans at the Addison stop but we managed to steer clear of it. A few hours later our friend Ted arrived from a flight from Tokyo. He's been over there since August working with the JET program. So we spent the evening hanging out and eating popcorn. For Christmas, Tim and I received a hot air popcorn popper from Gigi, and we have used it every day since Christmas. We are still learning how exactly to best mimic Grandpa Graff's famous popcorn recipe, and we're getting close. Still though, there is something about Grandpa Graff's popcorn that just tastes better.
So after catching up on some sleep, I took Ted to Union station and told him to call if he wanted to take public transport to O'Hare instead of flying from Grand Rapids. I also learned a bit more about how the lines interact. I learned today how thankful I am that the Pink line goes clockwise around the Loop as opposed to the Brown line (which goes counter-clockwise) when trying to go back to Union Station after Ted realized he forgot/lost something along the way. So we went back on the train and checked all the places we could have been. Eventually, hours after I left Ted, he called me saying he had found what was lost. I was incredibly relieved.
After saying my goodbyes to Ted, I went down to the yarn shop I like on Polk street hoping to buy more yarn for Tim's scarf, but they were fully sold out of ALL the yarn I was looking for! I was very disappointed, especially when they said it would take roughly three weeks to get more. There goes the window for getting the same Dyelots! So I came home and just finished his scarf as it was, and used the few yards I had left to make fringe.
Hopefully his scarf will be warm enough that the Chicago winds won't blow through it. I tried to take that into account when he asked me to make it, so the wool is nice and chunky, and also knit doubley thick, so there won't be any wind getting to Tim's neck! This makes me feel good since he will actually WEAR this, and it looks nice with the black hat I made him earlier since he didn't like the hat colors I had knit him earlier, back when we were just dating.
We also got a web-cam for Christmas, so once I get my brother on the phone, he can help me install it. That will be pretty cool, because then we'll be free to video chat. We are both optimistic about the job market and economy, because things are slowly, slowly starting to go into upturn. We'll keep you updated about what happens with us.
I was getting frustrated because Kathy Griffin really annoys me, and we were watching CNN because both of us like Anderson Cooper quite a bit. So after that, we went to bed and slept for several hours. It was very relaxing. We got up at around 9:30 the next day and met our friend Glenn (one of our groomsmen), his girlfriend and our friend Chevalia. We hopped a Metra train to Naperville, and we went to a little hole in the wall place for lunch (had the trains been running, Glenn and Chevalia would have watched those) and to watch the Outdoor Hockey game at Wrigley field between Detroit Redwings and the Chicago Blackhawks.
We were not the only ones there watching the game, and the Chicagoans were getting really angry about the Blackhawks losing. However, I was scared because our Michigander visitors were totally rooting for the Redwings, and not being as quiet as I would have liked. The train ride was really fun because we got to ride a double-decker and we just whooped it up the whole way there and back. When we got back to Chicago they had to get on their Amtrak to Grand Rapids so we said our goodbyes and we took the "L" home.
Tim and I caught some fans at the Addison stop but we managed to steer clear of it. A few hours later our friend Ted arrived from a flight from Tokyo. He's been over there since August working with the JET program. So we spent the evening hanging out and eating popcorn. For Christmas, Tim and I received a hot air popcorn popper from Gigi, and we have used it every day since Christmas. We are still learning how exactly to best mimic Grandpa Graff's famous popcorn recipe, and we're getting close. Still though, there is something about Grandpa Graff's popcorn that just tastes better.
So after catching up on some sleep, I took Ted to Union station and told him to call if he wanted to take public transport to O'Hare instead of flying from Grand Rapids. I also learned a bit more about how the lines interact. I learned today how thankful I am that the Pink line goes clockwise around the Loop as opposed to the Brown line (which goes counter-clockwise) when trying to go back to Union Station after Ted realized he forgot/lost something along the way. So we went back on the train and checked all the places we could have been. Eventually, hours after I left Ted, he called me saying he had found what was lost. I was incredibly relieved.
After saying my goodbyes to Ted, I went down to the yarn shop I like on Polk street hoping to buy more yarn for Tim's scarf, but they were fully sold out of ALL the yarn I was looking for! I was very disappointed, especially when they said it would take roughly three weeks to get more. There goes the window for getting the same Dyelots! So I came home and just finished his scarf as it was, and used the few yards I had left to make fringe.
Hopefully his scarf will be warm enough that the Chicago winds won't blow through it. I tried to take that into account when he asked me to make it, so the wool is nice and chunky, and also knit doubley thick, so there won't be any wind getting to Tim's neck! This makes me feel good since he will actually WEAR this, and it looks nice with the black hat I made him earlier since he didn't like the hat colors I had knit him earlier, back when we were just dating.
We also got a web-cam for Christmas, so once I get my brother on the phone, he can help me install it. That will be pretty cool, because then we'll be free to video chat. We are both optimistic about the job market and economy, because things are slowly, slowly starting to go into upturn. We'll keep you updated about what happens with us.
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