On avg... Its been -10 here. Thats Celsius which makes it around 14F. Thats another problem. I have to constantly log on to convert the daag meters and liters here... Or simply turn to my wife. Shes the one who can run numbers in her head, that too while standing on one leg, and watching tv.
So -10C of course is without the wind chill factor. WCF has the weatherman with a smirk but endearingly refers to it as. With the 'WCF' it then casually goes down to about -25C to -27C or so. Again thats 'C' which makes it around -13F. The most I can recall from the weather peeps in the NYC area is saying its going to be bitter as its head down to the teens... Dont think it hardly ever went below 0...
Whats also interesting is that when the weather does occasionally go up to -5C or so which is 23F (and which has occurred a mere few times so far), the weather guys have the audacity to call it a 'heat wave'. I am thinking to myself you got to be kidding me as I am still freezing, wondering if I should even get out of bed for yet another day... But then its truly a 'heat wave' for these locals. I am all bundled up and all, and as I look around, lo and behold, they are more people on the streets enjoying this 'heat wave' and are literally wearing a lighter jacket without the usual gloves and scarf...
Anyways... To add to misery.... People that I talked to have always in their kind and gentle ways, advised or warned me, depending how you look at it, to brace for it. I have been constantly told since Sept or Oct when the cold snap hit us, that this is nothing... I was like its -10, how worse can it get after all? They cautioned me that the worse days are in Feb till April and at times, a little beyond, as mother nature is always keen on telling us who really is in command here.... So of course, being from the other side of the border, where for us, the 'City' means NYC, after all, there cant be any other city in the world, and where we study geography for only a year or so, I thought they did not know what they were talking about....
After all, just a few weeks ago,after we brought our coffee from the local 'Tim Hortons' --- yes, Dunkin Donuts who? -- and headed over to the campus... After settling in her office, Tasneem texted me that she left her coffee in the car... I told her no prob, I will get it in a bit. Have to warm it up anyway, so whats the big deal if I get it now later, I thought to myself, wisely of course, at that time at least.. She calmly and rationally said okay, thats fine, knowing well my American soul, that we know whats right and what we are doing always... Not realizing what lies ahead, a few hours later, I finally go down to the car to get her coffee... As I attempt to pick it up from the console, there is a different funny type of feel to it.
I am thinking to myself, now whats this..... Looking close, and I could have sworn my American eyes got wider, I noticed that the daag coffee was forzen... Frozen, like really frozen! Like solid ice! I was like OMG, in a few hours, the cold which was nothing for the locals, did this to the daag coffee! Hows that possible, in a few hours? I could have sworn I have read on hypothermia that certain factors must be in place, and it has this certain temperature and what not... And here my wife's coffee in just a few hours, was a pack of ice... Of course, I was also amused. Perhaps at where my fate had brought me in the middle of the seals and moose. Yes, we are in an area, where from the coast, as our town is located on the river, we seldom see seals swimming by in the fall when the waters were not frozen... Pretty sure, they are sun bathing on the daag ice as we havnt rode up there in a while.. So, amazed at this phenomena, I took out my camera, to attempt to capture the essence of that situation... No luck really... I then sheepishly took back the coffee to my wife, who already knew what the outcome would be.... After all, she is the Doctorate in the family... I excitedly like a child told her what happened as she tried to calm me down, saying yes, thats what happens in these temperatures..
I should have known... After all, when we took a ferry to one of the many islands here, I noticed the scheduled said that the ferry ran only till end of Oct. So, I inquisitively asked the captain what do the people do after winter if they have to go or come back? He amusingly said to me, oh!, it gets real easy then! They just walk back and forth as they please.... I was like daag yo! Never seen the Hudson River freeze like that...
Anyway, as I was getting up, and hearing on the news that the groundhog saw its shadow, I also remembered that we had entered the month of Feb. Yesterday, wasnt so bad, so how bad can it be. I mean really. How much would the locals know? Well... There was Lisa on TV. Thats one of our local weather people, as she told us that today, it was -17C. I was like wait did I hear that right? -17C. And that too Celsius! I quickly called my wife over who was making tea, to quickly convert for me, so I can figure out how cold it was.... She told me it was around 1F. I was like woah.... And as I was thinking that that prob dosnt even include the 'WCF', Lisa, the weather girl, as if she was reading my mind, quickly pointed out to us viewers, that the WFC right now is at about -35C to -40C... I look over to my dear wife like a wounded puppy to just give it to me like man... Tell me how much that really is... I can take it.... Let the reality set in. She slowly told me, as I cringed like the child on a Dentist's chair, that it was about -31C to -40C.... In other words, it was now all balanced out...
I am not sure how I was able to crawl out of bed hearing that this morning. Those memories are very faint now.... So I got ready as did my wife..... As you may know, I dont blow dry my hair. No. Men dont do that... Real men that is... Metros maybe.. The only people I know who blow dry their hair is Brad Pitt... Not me. Thats not for me... Well, as we walked across the parking lot to our car, which was only a few feet away or so..... I noticed as we got in the car, that my wet hair started feeling 'heavy'.. Just a bit... I was like what the heck is going on now... So very cooly, I attempted to brush my hair with my hands, like Gregory Peck, and yet, my hand couldnt move across my hair... Why? Why you ask? I will tell you why! In this frigid weather, where according to a groundhog, we have six more weeks of, which is a joke --- I laugh at that btw! -- my hair was literally frozen as well in just a few mere minutes. Frozen I tell you! How is that possible?! I cant ever remember that ever happening in my great state of Jersey. How can that be? Like the pack of wolves gnawing on their prized prey, the unsympathetic frigid brutal artic cold of Canada viciously munched away at my sensitive hair...
I sit in my car, as it warms up, looking up at the sky all amused, with my full set of great but frozen hair.... Frozen hair...What can I tell you..... Me and my frozen hair.... It adds a whole new dimension to the word 'cool'...
Welcome to the northern frontiers....
