You Know You Are Cold When...

Weather in Sichuan is different than any other place I have ever lived. It isn't that it gets that cold on the thermometer, but a combination of poor heating, cold and moisture produces a bone chilling effect. There are many, many ways that people try to fight against the cold. Believe me I have tried them all, but in the end you just can't completely escape the cold. The other day I started to make a list of some of the weapons that I have used against the cold. Below is a sort of list of the ways that I knew that I was cold this winter.

You Know You Are Cold When...
1. New, fleece lined, extra thick long johns become a topic of conversation at the dinner table.
2. Getting dressed for the day or even for bed in anything less than three very thick layers begins to sound like insanity.
3. Refrigeration seems more and more like overkill, especially when you know that your kitchen is the same temperature as the inside of the refrigerator and life would be so much more easy if you could just leave everything on the counter. All the restaurants in town have the meat of the day hanging on hooks outside. Maybe they have a good idea after all.
4. You receive a hot water bottle in the mail and every night after boiling the water to put inside it, you hug your water bottle and say with great feeling, "I love water bottles," over and over again.
5. You buy an electric blanket for not just your bed but your couch too.
6. You dread getting out of bed in the morning, getting dressed or bathing because it is just too cold.
7. The idea of drinking a cold beverage from the refrigerator sends chills down your spine.
8. You begin wearing snowboarding socks, snow boots and long johns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Okay, maybe not the snow boots but definitely the rest.
9. Drinking boiling hot water becomes part of everyday life.
10. Wearing stocking caps or fur lined military hats is something you do all day and night. Yes, I sleep in a stocking cap. Kind of reminds you of "The Night Before Christmas" doesn't it.
11. You get chilblains, a form of pre-frostbite on your fingers from typing on your computer without gloves. At least I didn't get them on my feet this year. The winter was kind of mild.

The good news is that winter is almost over. With a week and a half until Spring Festival starts, the weather will begin warming up soon. One more month and I'll be free and clear.