Complex Numbers

Fall Down

I guess Fall is officially here. Or Autumn. Never did figure out why there's two names for it, when the other seasons only get one each.

A lot of people love this time of year. I am not one of them. Oh, it has its pleasures - Oktoberfest, leaf colors, and generally lower humidity among them - but the problem with autumn is that it's immediately followed by winter, and I despise winter in all its incarnations.

I don't like the cold, though I am rather fond of the darkness. A lot of people I know love the cold, giving me yet another thing that I don't understand about humans. If I hear one more "I can always put on more clothes, but I can only take off so much when it gets hot," I might lose it at that human in particular. No amount of clothing can keep my hands and feet warm in the cold, and when those things are cold, I'm miserable.

Gloves, socks, whatever - doesn't matter. Within seconds of venturing into the frigid air, I start to feel like an icicle. And yes, even someone who loves the indoors as much as I do has to venture out occasionally - and in the winter, occasionally is too often.

About the only good thing about winter as far as I'm concerned is that I get to wear my leather trench coat without getting too many dirty looks.

One strange thing, though: I'm a Birkenstock guy now. Have been ever since I visited Maui (which, I might add, I did in a February, the better to avoid the worst of that horrid month in Virginia). Birkenstocks are open-toed, cork-soled sandals. They're very comfortable once you break them in, and appeal to my basic (lazy) nature in that I don't have to tie shoelaces.

I wore them almost exclusively on the cross-country trip I took last December, and I noticed something odd: despite their sockless nature, I survived temperatures in the single digits (F) while wearing them in Nevada. Best I can figure is it's not just the cold that gets me; it's the moisture, which is notably absent in the desert.

Maybe I should move to Nevada. No... no. Too much temptation. Utah? Nah. Too little temptation. Thing is, I like Virginia - but mostly in the spring and summer.

Might have to visit Maui again.