deep freeze

i sit writing this while staring out of ice clad windows. crystals swirl and intersect making it impossible to see whether it it still snowing outside or whether the sun has finally woken from it's slumber.

most days i rise to find the temperature below zero, in fahrenheit, with the temperature rising on warmer days to 15. it's a whole new world for this texas boy. but i love it. i just have to get used to wearing long johns every day and wrapping my face in a scarf to avoid frostbite as i wait for the bus.

the city is quiet too. it's like business and commerce went into hibernation. as i walk into the market to buy fruits and veggies i encounter huge mounds of burlap covered tables and only when i stop does a stay-puffed marshmallow looking woman come out to see what i want. early in the morning the streets have that windswept, abandoned street feel from a movie, with only a few brave souls scurrying across.

but like i said back in october i love cold weather. the romance of it still holds me captive. it's like conquering something every time you go out and huddle among the shivering masses. like hushing the voices of any fears that would say to stay warm and comfy inside. perhaps, too, it let's me live out the inner fantasy of living like a nomad on the great plateau; my breath rising to the sky like incense to life, wrapped in a yak skin blanket, reliant upon little but that which is necessary. i guess that is part of why i love the cold, it is so deeply tied to my romantic visions of life. i am blessed that i get to live those out, even if only partially.