I'd Be Safe And Warm If I Was In LA . . .

It's from more than a week ago, but I just couldn't pass this one up:

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If it's unusually snowy or rainy, I actually am more likely to go outside because I'm curious and excited about the novelty. The first snow, a rainy day after a dry spell, and the first big storm of the year are likely to drag me outside just to feel it. (The only exception is if it's unusually cold. I like going outside when it's unusually hot, but unusually cold days can fuck themselves).

However, if it's a predictable level of cold, snow, or rain for that time of the year and I'm going to have to put up with much more of it, it stops being fun. Actually staying indoors is usually out of the question-- I've got to go to school or work or wherever, and the world doesn't stop because of a little rain or (at least if you live above the Mason-Dixon line) snow-- but I'm much more likely to hit snooze and dread getting out of bed if it's dark outside my window because of clouds or I can detect the chill or moisture in the air. The weather nerd part of me likes living in climates that undergo seasonal changes with the occasional interesting weather event like storms, floods, and blizzards, but seasonal depression part of me that gets sluggish and depressed during the winter-- and the practical part of me that has to leave the house and show up at work wet or blue-- would kind of love to live in a place where it's 75 degrees and sunny 24/7.

Of course, in my current living situation, whether I stay indoors or leave the house is practically irrelevant because my apartment, workplace, and the outdoors are all the same temperature and about the same humidity. (During Typhoon Melor the clothes packed away in my drawers felt as wet as if I'd left them hanging outside!). In Hagi my instinct is still to stay indoors, crank up the heater, and burrow under my kotatsu with some hot soup, but I'm always amazed when I go out to get groceries that the temperature that felt frigid inside my house doesn't feel so bad when it's in the proper context outdoors. (Maybe I should make a bigger point to go outside in the winter, because, stupidly, I feel less cold there. That doesn't help when it's rainy and cold, but maybe I can learn to enjoy a walk on a cold but sunny day, even if it doesn't sound pleasant to me in principle. I just wish that after a brisk walk in the cold, it were possible to go back to a warm, cozy house /-:).

Do I get depressed when it's cold and rainy for long periods of time? Hahahahahahaha. Does the sun rise in the east? Does an object in motion stay in motion until opposed by a conflicting force? I have seasonal depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder, if you want to get technical) and an iron deficiency that messes with my circulation. I also dislike being wet and unable to dry off. So rainy workdays specifically (I don't mind rain if I have immediate and available opportunities to change clothes) and winter in general (snow or no snow) do not make me happy. The longer they carry on, the more irritable and depressed I become.

How do I cope? When I lived in the US, I cranked up the heat and ate hot meals, and bundled up when I had to go outside. It didn't cure everything-- I still took more frequent naps and felt generally more sluggish than in the warmer months-- but I at least felt like a living being. Now, in the Land of the We Think The Rising Sun Replaces The Need for Efficient Heating Practices I do a lot more but I'd say I cope a lot worse. I do everything I'm supposed to-- I layer on as many as 7 layers of clothes with the sweat-wicking layers next to my skin; I use an electric blanket, kotatsu, electric heater-- and kairo heating pads under my clothes; I cook hot meals and boil water for hot instant soups; and I take a hot shower every night-- and I'm still miserable. Unless bitching counts as "coping," I don't think I cope. And what's worse, I tend to take it out on the country of Japan itself. Japan, I love you dearly and I adore living in you every other season of the year (yes, even your muggy summers), but during the winter if you were a person I think I'd stab you in the face.

I'd Be Safe And Warm If I Was In LA . . .

It's from more than a week ago, but I just couldn't pass this one up:

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If it's unusually snowy or rainy, I actually am more likely to go outside because I'm curious and excited about the novelty. The first snow, a rainy day after a dry spell, and the first big storm of the year are likely to drag me outside just to feel it. (The only exception is if it's unusually cold. I like going outside when it's unusually hot, but unusually cold days can fuck themselves).

However, if it's a predictable level of cold, snow, or rain for that time of the year and I'm going to have to put up with much more of it, it stops being fun. Actually staying indoors is usually out of the question-- I've got to go to school or work or wherever, and the world doesn't stop because of a little rain or (at least if you live above the Mason-Dixon line) snow-- but I'm much more likely to hit snooze and dread getting out of bed if it's dark outside my window because of clouds or I can detect the chill or moisture in the air. The weather nerd part of me likes living in climates that undergo seasonal changes with the occasional interesting weather event like storms, floods, and blizzards, but seasonal depression part of me that gets sluggish and depressed during the winter-- and the practical part of me that has to leave the house and show up at work wet or blue-- would kind of love to live in a place where it's 75 degrees and sunny 24/7.

Of course, in my current living situation, whether I stay indoors or leave the house is practically irrelevant because my apartment, workplace, and the outdoors are all the same temperature and about the same humidity. (During Typhoon Melor the clothes packed away in my drawers felt as wet as if I'd left them hanging outside!). In Hagi my instinct is still to stay indoors, crank up the heater, and burrow under my kotatsu with some hot soup, but I'm always amazed when I go out to get groceries that the temperature that felt frigid inside my house doesn't feel so bad when it's in the proper context outdoors. (Maybe I should make a bigger point to go outside in the winter, because, stupidly, I feel less cold there. That doesn't help when it's rainy and cold, but maybe I can learn to enjoy a walk on a cold but sunny day, even if it doesn't sound pleasant to me in principle. I just wish that after a brisk walk in the cold, it were possible to go back to a warm, cozy house /-:).

Do I get depressed when it's cold and rainy for long periods of time? Hahahahahahaha. Does the sun rise in the east? Does an object in motion stay in motion until opposed by a conflicting force? I have seasonal depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder, if you want to get technical) and an iron deficiency that messes with my circulation. I also dislike being wet and unable to dry off. So rainy workdays specifically (I don't mind rain if I have immediate and available opportunities to change clothes) and winter in general (snow or no snow) do not make me happy. The longer they carry on, the more irritable and depressed I become.

How do I cope? When I lived in the US, I cranked up the heat and ate hot meals, and bundled up when I had to go outside. It didn't cure everything-- I still took more frequent naps and felt generally more sluggish than in the warmer months-- but I at least felt like a living being. Now, in the Land of the We Think The Rising Sun Replaces The Need for Efficient Heating Practices I do a lot more but I'd say I cope a lot worse. I do everything I'm supposed to-- I layer on as many as 7 layers of clothes with the sweat-wicking layers next to my skin; I use an electric blanket, kotatsu, electric heater-- and kairo heating pads under my clothes; I cook hot meals and boil water for hot instant soups; and I take a hot shower every night-- and I'm still miserable. Unless bitching counts as "coping," I don't think I cope. And what's worse, I tend to take it out on the country of Japan itself. Japan, I love you dearly and I adore living in you every other season of the year (yes, even your muggy summers), but during the winter if you were a person I think I'd stab you in the face.

Writer's Block: Menu fixe fix

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Stir fry and chocolate. Stir-fry has vegetables, protein (meat, fish, tofu, etc), and carbohydrates from the rice, which are all necessary features of a healthy diet, so I wouldn't develop any nutritional disorders-- and since you can mix up what you put in a stir-fry (including the sauce you use to flavor it) it would take me longer to get tired of it. The chocolate is there to satisfy my sweet tooth and general chocolate cravings, and since there are many varieties and nuances to chocolate (especially if I can stretch the the definition of chocolate to include mousses, cakes, ice creams, etc that contain chocolate) I could last a while there, too. I'd still grow tired of these eventually-- it takes a couple months of daily intake for me to start detesting something-- but since they have built-in variety they'd last longer than less flexible contenders.

Of course, this is all assuming "foods" has no bearings on what I drink, and I can continue to drink water to survive, milk for my dairy intake, and juice for the vitamins found in fruit.

Also, wow-- I was the first person to respond to this prompt!

Writer's Block: Menu fixe fix

[Error: unknown template qotd]

Stir fry and chocolate. Stir-fry has vegetables, protein (meat, fish, tofu, etc), and carbohydrates from the rice, which are all necessary features of a healthy diet, so I wouldn't develop any nutritional disorders-- and since you can mix up what you put in a stir-fry (including the sauce you use to flavor it) it would take me longer to get tired of it. The chocolate is there to satisfy my sweet tooth and general chocolate cravings, and since there are many varieties and nuances to chocolate (especially if I can stretch the the definition of chocolate to include mousses, cakes, ice creams, etc that contain chocolate) I could last a while there, too. I'd still grow tired of these eventually-- it takes a couple months of daily intake for me to start detesting something-- but since they have built-in variety they'd last longer than less flexible contenders.

Of course, this is all assuming "foods" has no bearings on what I drink, and I can continue to drink water to survive, milk for my dairy intake, and juice for the vitamins found in fruit.

Also, wow-- I was the first person to respond to this prompt!