Change in the Weather

I say this ALL THE TIME. But I say it the most when the seasons change.

In New York City, it is SUMMER until the MINUTE that it is WINTER. And it is WINTER until the MINUTE that it is SUMMER.

Theydies and Gentlethem, Welcome to Winter.

I’m gonna point to last Friday as the official start of Winter in NYC. It was the first time I wore my winter coat. For Saturday’s tour, I dug out my thermal long johns! Space heater is ON, extra blankets are ON, Winter —— it’s on! 

We didn’t really get a “Fall,” this year, did we? We sorta went from 80 degrees one week to 40 degrees the next, really proving my bold statement above. Like, “Autumn? What is Autumn?” A vivid illustration of this fact was that literally, in one day, I left for work with a green tree outside my bedroom window and came home to a bare-ass winter tree. Cool.

I’m sad about this because I love the 60 degree weather we never *really* had. Oh, maybe there was a day or two when it wasn’t too hot to walk around and enjoy the city, but it was remarkable. Like, everyone was remarking, “WOW, SURE IS NICE WEATHER TODAY ISN’T IT.” I don’t know about you, but I never talked about the weather SO MUCH as I did when I moved to New York City. You’d think us Big City Folk would have more interesting small talk topics? Like, culture? But nah. Not really. Maybe it’s because there’s just so many people that you encounter on a daily basis that you have to make small talk with — cashiers, door people, security guards, mail carriers, bodega employees, baristas — that the brain cannot come up with original topics of conversation each time, and defaults to the Big Three:

1 Boy The Weather Sure Is Weather Today

2 Heckin’ Tourists Eh

3 I Am Tired

And I pity the New Yorker whose social interaction outlasts the exhaustion of all of these topics. What do you do? How do you exit the conversation? Dump your own Pumpkin Spice Latte over your head and nonchalantly say “Oh No How Clumsy Of Me Please Excuse”? I really do not know. I Am Tired.

It’s weird, though, I almost don’t mind the sudden cold snap. Yesterday was a frigid 40 degrees. It was Multiple Layer Weather. I was double coatin’ it. Wearing my down alternative coat UNDER my winter coat. But weirdly, I didn’t mind. The cold was a nice change from the intolerable humidity of this past summer (I’m saying this NOW, in October, but don’t @ me with this in February). It almost reinvigorated my desire to get out and go exploring, a desire I honestly haven’t had since …June? The last tolerable weather day — I remember it — was the day I went to Governor’s Island. And even then, I got so dehydrated that I couldn’t keep down liquids the next day from vomitting as a result of the headache I’d gotten after spending the day out in the sun. Aaaaaand basically the rest of the summer was Like That, Or Worse.

Whereas now, I’ve got a list of things I wanna do A MILE LONG, and if all it takes to do it is throwing on 3 coats (!!! YES I DO THIS !!!), then I’ll do it!  I always say, it’s easier in the cold, when you can PUT CLOTHES ON, than in the heat, when you reach a point where there isn’t really a way to go out with less clothes on.

The cold is kind of romantic and cozy. There’s a lot to love about NYC in the winter time. Bars with fireplaces! Twinkle lights! CHRISTMAS decorations! If your building has steam heat, hug your radiator tight for me, nothing’s better in this world.

I have realized a snag: which is, that it’s difficult to look “cute” while bundled up in layers and layers of coats and hats. But, as you can see already, I’m up to tackling this challenge.

Happy Wintertime, Everybody!