A couple of months after my move to Ohio, I was asked how I was dealing with the Buckeye State's winter. At that time, the winter had been something of a mild one, with little in the way of either snow or single-digit temperatures (naturally, those events occurred on the days when I was unloading my stuff from my shipment pod AND the day we moved our belongings into a bigger place.)
A friend of my wife told me then: "Oh, noooo, this doesn't count. You really haven't experienced an Ohio winter yet."
Well, two solidly cold winters (well, one solidly cold one plus a solidly cold February) have arrived since that fateful statement, and I believe they have had quite a profound effect on the logical portion of my brain. I find myself saying some rather weird things nowadays. To wit:
"Walking the snowy sidewalk with regular work shoes? Yes! I love me a challenge!"
"Big snowflakes! Yeah, none of that pixie dust!
C'mon, Mother Nature...do your worst!"
"Thank goodness it's only single-digit negative wind chills this morning."
"Hmmm, reminds me of an ice pizza...mmmm, pizza."
"You know, I actually prefer this to San Francisco freeways at rush hour."
In all seriousness, Ohio winters have bolstered my cold-weather tolerances pretty well, from the negative-temperature wind chills to the sometimes treacherous trek to your car or back home due to ice and snow. The bonus part is I do get some beautiful sights that I just couldn't get in the Bay Area proper such as a frozen fountain at Goodale Park.
With that said, my spouse and I, and probably most Ohioans will agree: the quicker winter gets its ass out here, the better. Bring on spring!
