The "Blizzard"

"...truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast." -Herman Melville, Moby Dick
I couldn't help but relate to this quote this morning. When I left for class, I figured I'd be alright in just jeans and a t-shirt underneath my coat. I didn't count on such a drastic change in the weather in just an hour. As I walked from the trolley stop to the university, the wind suddenly began to gust. I thought, "Here we go again - another wind storm." What I didn't expect was a SNOW storm. It's been far too warm for October these last two weeks - meaning that the temperature has been hovering somewhere around 5-10 degrees (centigrade). Everyone was saying that October is the worst month here - all cold and rainy; once it starts to REALLY snow it's beautiful.
As I sat in my early morning Morphology class, I kept noticing how hard the wind was blowing outside. And how hazy it looked. "Wait a tick - that's not haze! That's snow blowin' around!" Yes, indeed, the heaviest snowfall I've ever seen in my life had begun. Now some of you more accustomed to life north of the great state of Texas may be laughing at me right now. Of course there will be more - it's SIBERIA! But after two months in Irkutsk, I still find snow particularly fascinating, and find myself grinning every time I see a fresh patch of powder to go traipsing about in.
I think it's about time I head home. I need to but on some warmer clothes - and drink some of the yummy hot chocolate my granny sent me :-D. (USPS stinks by the way - but more on that latter).