Shoveling in a Winter Wonderland

So....was I the person who said "Spring has almost sprung" in Minnesota? Maybe that was a little premature.



I should have known life was going to get cold and white when I came down with a horrible case of the flu last night - chills so bad that I thought I was going to pull a muscle I was shivering so hard. There hasn't been a major snowstorm this season that wasn't immediately preceeded by me getting violently ill. That'd be fine if I could sit inside and rest and be miserable in peace, but there's just no getting around the fact that unless your organs are falling out, you have to go shovel so emergency services can at least reach you. It's problematic to be sweating before you even put your jacket on to go outside.

But, the driveway was shoveled, pending the big snowplow dump at the end of the drive, and I even went so far as to help Steve and Ty shovel a neighbor's driveway. Ty agreed to shovel for $10, perhaps not realizing that it might take several hours if the shovel is bigger than you are. The endorphins seemed to mitigate some of the illness, but it came back later, exacerbated by a diet of caffeinated coffee and red delicious apple.

Now I feel extremely silly for not biking to work on Friday, because it looks as through there won't be another chance for a while.

If you're worried about what Minnesota weather is up to in the long run, the Strib has an article predicting that by 2095 (via MNSpeak) we'll be just like southern Wisconsin is now, but it's by that liberal Union of Concerned Scientists, so I'd take it with a grain of salt. They're probably just trying to convince Wisconsinites (and everyone 200 miles south of the current blue state line) that liberalness is like the weather and moving their way, so in 2095 they'll be blue state.