Ready to GO
I have yet to crack open a suitcase, laundry is far from complete, and my to do list remains a mile long, but I am ready to get out of dodge. Why the sudden change of heart when I’m usually quite content to be at home? When the prospect of living out of a suitcase for six weeks usually has me inwardly groaning? One simple fact. -25 degrees. Fahrenheit. Yes, that is a negative sign. Yes that is actual temperature. No that is not wind chill. Granted, we have gotten as high as -5 some days when we’re lucky. We were at about -12 yesterday when I decided to brave a quick trip to the grocery store that’s about a two minute walk from our apartment building. I wanted to pick up a few potatoes and an onion for a new recipe I was trying. Yes, despite the fact I’m shortly leaving for more than a month and am far from prepared I still am taking the time to try out new things in the kitchen. What can I say, I’m trying to make up for the fact that I won’t be able to cook a single thing in the coming weeks. That is a sad fact. However, it also means I don’t have to wash a single dish in the coming weeks. Not a sad fact. Anyways, back to the grocery store. I arrived to find a sheet draped over the vegetable bins. I thought this was odd, but thought maybe they were trying to keep the vegetables safe from the frigid temperatures. (Although last I checked keeping vegetables cold wasn’t such a bad thing.) I folded back the edge of the sheet to grab a few potatoes. That’s when a worker came over and announced, “You can’t buy those right now.” A little flustered I responded, “What time can I buy them?” “You can’t buy them today.” “Why?” I committed the fateful error of asking why. Five years of living here and I still sometimes ask why. This time I was even foolishly expecting an answer. Instead, all I got was, “You can’t buy them today.” I groaned inwardly, knowing that this fact meant an eight minute walk to the vegetable market if I wanted lemon herb potatoes to go with my lemon chicken. I pulled my mittens back on, pulled my scarf up around my mouth, cinched my hood in tight, and bent over into the frigid temperatures out to the market. The walk is quite pleasant in normal temperatures, but was absolutely painful yesterday. As I trudged back to the apartment building with a frozen face and no feeling in my legs (despite long underwear), the thought that pounded through my head was, “Ok, I’m ready to go. Bring on warmer temperatures.” Tomorrow afternoon I’ll stand on a train platform (in just a fleece…who wants to carry a heavy winter coat through Thailand…and yes, I will regret this decision for the 10 minutes on the platform, but will be grateful during the weeks in Thailand) waiting for a train to take me south. Hopefully by the time I get back to Siping the temperatures will be back in the positives.
In other news, the Buckeyes gave me the best going away gift a girl could ask for in a decisive victory over the ducks. Who knew we actually had a passing game? The game was pure delight to watch and is best captured in the following quote:
It was supposed to be a matchup of Oregon’s high-flying offense (No. 7 in scoring) against Ohio State’s stubborn defense (No. 5 in points allowed), but someone forgot to tell coach Jim Tressel, who either experienced an epiphany — “Gee, throwing the ball can be fun” — or decided that the punt isn’t the most important play in football when you can’t tackle the punt returner.
Ahhhh, sweet redemption. Maybe the big ten isn’t so bad after all. I hope you all are enjoying the first few days of the new year!
Now that’s commitment – I don’t love anything (much less potatoes!) enough to brave those temperatures. I’m not sure if you’re my hero or just a total nut!