The ground is covered in inches of snow, the sidewalks are slick with ice, and (on some days) there is an grayness ranging from the uniformly cloudy sky to the snowed over asphalt. Luckily this is tempered with people walking briskly in coats and bright scarves, clear and unnaturally sunny days, active coffee shops, and a few reckless individuals attempting to do outdoor sports.
This last part is my plan at least. I have cold-weather running gear, ice skates, good biking clothes, and a lead on some cross-country skis. I've been grounded from running for a few weeks due to some overuse of the feet-shoes but have been having some fun on the bike and skates. Biking on ice is both impossible and comical. The ice is pretty unnavigable and the windchill does unexpected things to your eyes and ears. (I think my tears started to freeze in my eyes)
At work the last few weeks have been unproductive. This is turning around now that I'm not pressuring myself. I reconnected with my old advisor from Argonne and it was a huge relief to have a discussion with someone who was involved in my subsubfield.
In my house the maintenance coordinator disappeared unexpectedly, leaving me with the uncharacteristic and somewhat comical task of winterizing an old and leaky house. I've managed to tune, accidentaly empty, refill and correctly retune the radiator system. I've also been dealing with contractors about roof insulation and know more than I care to about foam, fiberglass, and flame retardants.
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| A warm day briefly exposes a patch of grass. |
Three days until California where they're experiencing 70-80 degree sunny weather.
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