Snow Madness Is Festive!

My grandmother recently described her drive through downtown Dallas quite accurately. „Bryan, you could have shot off a cannon and it wouldn’t have hit anybody.“

True, she was driving through on a Sunday afternoon, after a bit of a challenging drive around Fair Park in her efforts to get to a meeting of the DAR. Things didn’t go too well, since she got caught in the White Rock marathon and thus all the streets were blocked, forcing her into multiple detours.

All in all, it was a pretty funny story, and had me laughing, since I had begun our conversation simply with a, „Hey, what did you do yesterday?“

In this past week that I have been back from my Spanish vacation, I have had some pretty decent answers to that question myself. For example, at least twice I believe I said, „Sod all,“ and think that to be a perfectly acceptable (as well as extremely accurate) response. After all, I am on vacation, and am simply enjoying myself.

Somehow, I have managed to read about six books in the past few weeks, and while some of it was forgettable fiction, quite a bit of it was heavy contradictory philosophy, which made for some interesting reflective moments on my part. Don’t go thinking that I am growing a beard and getting all weird; I am basically catching up on some reading of a particular author I never gave much attention to previously. Sure, it has given me new perspective, but I will jump up and say that watching the complete Black Adder series over the weekend (for the umpteenth time) had equal influence, not to mention comedic value.

All of this helps one get through the cold weather; I certainly enjoy the chilly temperatures and the snow, but try standing outside having a couple of lattes and your face will feel like it’s freezing off. Thus, I have spent a bit more time indoors in the past days, but have taken plenty of breaks in cozy pubs and cafes, as well.

I managed to swing myself a third interview with a company, so a couple of days ago I took a little train ride north, had my chat, then had a semi-relaxing trip home, just enjoying the countryside and the chance to roll through a few nice villages, towns, and cities. Everything is in full Christmas market mode, lots of lights and festive decorations are up, and truth be told, I did kind of get caught up in the spirit, and yes, Glühwein helps.

Yesterday afternoon, I spent a little time in one of those cozy cafes, and when we left a couple of hours later, it was snowing heavily. It pretty much snowed through the night and for the better part of this morning (as I was able to observe with a nice espresso from my kitchen table). It was the kind of snow that gets you really excited and appreciative of not only winter but also the season.

After seeing that Arsenal got through to the next round of Champions League, I ended up watching White Christmas (gotta love Bing), which has helped to get me even more psyched up. I seem to be in more of a festive spirit this year, and it can’t be just because I am listening to 7 Seconds while I write this.

At any rate, today was a personal snow day for me, and those are allowed when you are on vacation. I took a little walk around Frankfurt, and despite the fact that some of the snow was melting and the sidewalks were getting a little slushy, I had a nice day. I was secretly hoping to see a big plop of snow melt off a building and fall onto the head of a pedestrian, but it almost happened to me about an hour ago, so I will rescind that wish.

Enjoy the season, and thanks for the Christmas cards and pics.

Keep the faith