Get Out

On days like today it is easy to convince yourself to stay inside. But getting out there is a must. Today I woke up and walked down the street to Dunkin Donuts and rewarded myself (as if the day off wasn't a reward already) with a Dunkachino. Delicious.

Also I got to experience the weather going through a bipolar phase. Walking to Dunkin, the sky was blue, there were still some flurries, but it was not windy and was pleasant. Coming out of the store, however, that weather was nowhere to be found. The storm decided it'd give it one last go. The sky had turned grey, the wind was kicking, and there was a decent amount of snow falling once more.

Think this was the last of the snow for this winter? I know it has already exceeded the record for inches of snow in the Philadelphia area for one winter. But, I heard there might be one more storm on the horizon, so keep those boots and shovels out a little longer.

All Natural

I don't know when it happened but at some point I decided I wanted to try to use medicine as little as possible. I have mentioned this on here before, several months ago when I was unable to put up with or improve upon how I was feeling and took some benedryl.

A few days ago I wrote about how since last Friday I had been suffering 24 hour cycles of the same discomfort. It has not been a full 24 hours without it yet, but I would like to think I am out of the woods. I woke up today about an hour before my alarm was meant to go off and noticed I still had the headache I went to sleep with. By the time I made and ate breakfast an hour later, however, the headache had subsided. There were points during the day where I felt it coming back but it never did. I sit here at 2 in the morning and can state that I have no chills and no head pain.

Although it was not pleasant, I was able to overcome this little illness with two simple steps. I drank a lot of water and I ate an apple a day. I have been told before that headaches can be brought on by dehydration and even if that was not the cause - drinking more water and less of other things every day can only be an improvement. Secondly I have been eating more fruit, specifically apples. I read that apples contain natural aspirin in them. Again, like the water, at the very least, eating an apple a day is a smart decision and they are delicious.

I will not claim that either of these decisions caused my improvement but they were both healthy decisions and I am feeling healthier and that's a nice thing to report.

Just in time for what could be another punch in the face (snow storm). I know I said the other day that I was over the snow for this year. I am going to, in retrospect, blame it on how I was feeling. I have rallied and I say, bring on the snow.

Just In Time

So, walking around yesterday and today I am realizing that the recent warm weather is finally reminding me what color the ground used to be. That's right, the snow if finally melting to the point where the grass is visible once more. And then I read the 5 day forecast and realized there is another snow storm (or two) on the horizon.

Maybe it is the adult in me, maybe its the amount we have gotten this year, but I think I am done with the snow for one year. I don't even think a snow day could convince me otherwise.

Been doing some reading for a test I have tomorrow. Did you know that Sigmund Freud had some pretty strange ideas about mankind? I mean I will give the guy credit for laying some ground work for the field I an majoring in, sure, but there are some ideas of his that just make me laugh because of how absurd they are. For my class we have to know Freud's theory for the origin of religion which includes the first parricide, the beginning of incest taboo, the urinating on a father by his sons, all of which lead to the first civilization and origin of religion. It is definitely a good story.

What I did find interesting was Freud's concept of understanding man in terms of the history of man. Freud theorized that any individual organism in its species was genetically linked to its ancestors and thus that species in the present carried with it, the history of its species. Freud believed that the modern day man contained in him the history of mankind and we could learn history of our ancestors and the history of mankind by extracting this from the modern man via examination by psychoanalysis. Curious.

To Clarify

Despite how it may look - I do in fact go to school in New York City and not some ski town.

Overreactions

A few times a year, in the winter, people of the North East tend to treat a potential snow storm as if they need to go underground for a week or so. I understand that 'you can never be too careful' is something people like to throw around or 'you can never have too many...' But I am here to say that you can both be too careful and there is absolutely a point of excess to the 'can have to many'.
I watched the news over the weekend because, frankly, all that the major network stations were doing was covering the snow storm in Philadelphia. They caught up with a few people exiting the supermarkets with completely filled shopping carts. The one mother said she had to stock up so they had meals. I am sorry, but even though strapping a big shovel to the front of a truck is the most advanced we have gotten to clearing out snow - it is pretty damn effective. So much so that, unless you live in an area that has notoriously bad plowing or just in an area filled with untraveled streets, in a day's (max two days') time, most roads are cleared enough to travel on at regular speed with no risk.

With that in mind, this means you need enough food for somewhere between 3 and 5 meals. I am pretty sure most individuals have enough food in their homes that at any given time when a storm might be creeping in, they don't need to fill an entire shopping cart to cover them for two days. If that is the case I would like to see how they fit a week's worth of food into the cart on a normal basis.

I bring this up because today, after as many snow storms as I have been through, I was one of those people. The difference here being we have to walk to the grocery store. It is not a difficult or terribly far walk, but if sidewalks are icy or not totally plowed - the very cheap cart we purchased which barely is functional on a clear day, would be awful to push around. While we have enough food for another couple days, it will be more like 4 or 5 until our walkways are cleared enough that this trip would no longer be a hassle. Navigating through the supermarket felt like we were looting the store - popular items like bread and milk were noticeably running thin. Every aisle was filled with people and every register was backed into those aisles. People were hurrying up and down the aisles getting everything they 'needed'. In the future I will do my best to be more prepared. It was madness in there.

*Side note: the sale of shovels at each storm is tremendous. I can understand maybe the first storm of the season people realize their shovel from last year isn't going to cut it anymore and need to pick up a new one. But when you are on your 3rd or 4th snow storm of the season and this many people are out buying shovels I have to question how you got out of your driveway the last couple of times it has snowed this season. Maybe we should remind them they are not one-time-use only?

Second Biggest Snow Storm...

...in Philadelphia's history. Everyone from around here can tell you exactly what the biggest snow fall in our city's/area's history. The Blizzard of 96. That snow storm brought in 30 inches of snow. Total snow fall today measured in at 28.5 inches of snow. I'll be honest - I'm glad we didnt break it. The blizzard of 96 is legendary and a snow fall I can always remember as a major event in my childhood. Passing it would make it feel smaller. In addition in 1996 I was 8 years old and 30 inches of snow was enough that I couldn't walk anywhere. Todays 28.5 inches definitely makes walking around difficult but it also is just below my knee. So it is nice to know that the best snow storm of my childhood still is the biggest snow storm in the city's history.

To top it off - we are expected to get another snow storm Tuesday. Luckily by then I'll be back in NY. It was cool to be home for this but another storm is a bit much.

Another NY First

Short one. Lots to do.

Had to dig my car out (with the help of roommates) with our dustpans today. Should buy a shovel.

Snow, legitimately this time.

While I realized that it has already snowed this year, today marks the first legitimate snow. And what odd sensation it is. Even though to an extent it feels more like 'that time of year' with all the reminders I have had this year, I am still not quite prepared for boots and gloves and all that comes with it.

Additionally, I feel underwhelmed by the amount of snow. No, I am not ungrateful. I think it has to do with how much we got at home. At my house as of an hour ago there was 13 inches with a prediction of it possibly hitting 20. That's almost 2 feet of snow! I can't even recall the last time it snowed that much, or what it felt like.

I know, I am spoiled. Some people never get snow. But still, in comparison to what I would be getting to experience if I was home (partially bitter just about being at school and not on break yet), the 5-8 inches we have here just seems weak. And how absurd! Any other year a 5-8 inch snowfall would probably be the big one for the season, or one of them. This is the first one and its already hit that mark.

Anyway, here is hoping everyone is getting to enjoy a little bit of this. Whether you think it is not that much snow, or you are too busy with work, go outside and make a snow angel. That is one of those activities that no matter how mad, sad, or stressed you are, will just put a smile on your face and make you feel like a kid. But watch out - snow down the back of your shirt is the worst!

Be safe everyone.

also check out this link - things that have become obsolete in the last decade (yes another decade list)

Snow in the city