The past week was rough. First, we had Snowmageddon a week ago. I paid the price physically. Those 3 days of heavy snow and subsequent back-breaking snow removal were followed by 3 days of Coldmageddon. I paid the price mentally on those cold days. The 3 days of Coldmageddon were not the coldest Chicagoland has ever seen, but they were brutal, down to -16F/-26.7C overnight. Highs during the day were subzero F and around -18C. Cold enough that the train track fires had to be lit to keep the switches working.
And then we had a bit more snow and a bit more cold to finish out the week. We’re coming out of it now, and I look forward to days above freezing this next week.
I checked on fellow Chicagolanders to see how they were mentally coping with Coldmageddon. Here’s a Chicagoan who hit the beach.
I do love to swim, but that seemed a bit extreme to me. I couldn’t even bring myself to go to the pool. I settled for doing this each day …
I went outside. And not just to take the dogs out to make sure they didn’t freeze solid while looking for a place on our patio (the snow is too deep in our yard) to take a tinkle. In an effort to try not to be mentally defeated by the cold, I forced myself out daily somewhere, anywhere. One night it was to the Lowe’s giant home improvement warehouse to pick-up an order that came it. While picking up the item, I walked almost a mile in climate-controlled comfort in their warehouse to get a bit of exercise. I would have walked farther, but after I passed by the same Lowe’s employee several times, it started to get weird.
On another one of the frigid days, I went out to donate blood. And not just from a head injury after falling on the ice. It was for a clinical trial for a blood sample test to detect colo-rectal cancer and others. No more colonoscopies will be needed if you pass this blood test screening. It should be available in the US later this year. While I was out donating blood, I got a call telling me I also qualified for a market study about pie. Yes, pie, my favorite dessert.
So, I survived the 2 Mageddons and look forward to a coming week full of above-freezing temperatures, studying pie, a swim in a pool, and a colonoscopy. Yes, in an ironic twist, I must have a colonoscopy to continue in the colo-rectal blood sample test clinical trial that lasts a few years. Oh, well. At least it will benefit humanity in the end, although my end may suffer a bit in the process.
Jim Flanigan Looks at the World 