First Day of Spring

  Today marks the first day of spring. It is currently snowing outside. I took a walk earlier and the mud and puddles were crystallized with stiff ice. While walking around you can feel a cutting wind that will send your teeth chattering if you're not wearing a scarf. Yesterday I was in a bad mood and I took a trip to the bank where I met a woman as I was walking in. Snow was falling then as well. Our exchange went like this:

Her:  Tomorrow will be the first day of spring, can you believe it?

Me: Maybe on the calender it will be.

Her: Oh come on! You have to be positive, the weather might turn around tomorrow!

Me: Its a little hard to be positive about the weather when we live in Ohio.

Her: But the best part of living in Ohio is the unpredictability! It'd be boring to live anywhere else, don't you   think?

Me: [laughing] I suppose that's true.

I tend to make her same argument myself quite a bit, its just hard to see that angle when you're in a bad mood. That's why talking with complete strangers can be great some times, you never know what they'll say. So here's to the first day of spring, even if I'm a little happy that there's still snow falling.

Noah and the Whale
Blue Skies (First Days of Spring film trailer)

Half Decomposed

In the snow
buried under clear ice
there lay a small
dead animal,
half decomposed

I thought it said
something poetic about the world
though what, I cannot say

I pointed to the spot
in the snow,
you looked,
then shook your head
in sadness

For one reason or another
I always thought
 you to be the
one with macabre sensibilities
but no,
perhaps its me
   maybe its me after all

Recipe for Building Snowmen

    Wear five layers to prepare yourself for the cold, or wear just enough for warmth without restricting movement. You don't want to get outside only to find you've bundled in such a way that you are now the younger brother from A Christmas Story; only able to waddle feebly. Put on your big snow boots, the ones with a rubber coating, the ones that go halfway up your calf. Sneak past the dogs eager to play, that will come later, and step outside.

  Take a second before starting, let the blank canvas of perfectly white snow sink in. Imagine you are in Alberta, Canada or frost barren Siberia or the Arctic. You are an explorer here in this foreign land as you take your first step into the white. Hear it crunch beneath the weight of your foot. Savor that first sound, that first movement. Okay, now its officially winter, you are ready to begin. Ready to sculpt an army to help you with your explorations in this alien world.

   Even through your gloves the snow will be bitingly cold. That's okay, it'll keep you moving. Roll your ball of snow first right to left, then forward and backward until the small snow ball grows bigger, pulling more available snow in like a burr to velcro. Once its at a good size push it with both hands, zig-zag a path. Create a respectable base. Be sure to switch directions that you roll here too or you'll end up with an oblong boulder that simple won't be round at all.

   If you're satisfied, or cannot roll your base any further, leave it and move on to the next section. It is basically the same process, but this time the key is to stop before it grows just as big as the first. Stop instead when the second section is still small enough to lift reasonably. This measurement is harder to eye-ball than you might think. The snow is always going to be just a little heavier than it initially looks. When lifting, remember to bend at the knees downwards, not with your back. If you bend at the waist or back, you probably won't be able to lift your second rock of snow. Also you'll probably hurt yourself. Don't hurt yourself.

   Your second section might crash or smash upon connection. Don't despair; there's more snow. Rebuild, reuse, recycle. For the head, roll a ball that is 2-4x the size of your average throwing-snow-ball. Attach it, or attempt to attach it as this one will probably be uncooperative as well. Add a hat, scarf, pipe, etc. if you want, I think snowmen are just as fun plain.

The snowmen, sorry if its a little hard to see them

   What now? Enjoy your success. Then repeat the past few steps as desired until you have an army to protect your yard. Also you'll have many more things to hide behind if a snow ball fight breaks out. Extra cover is always a plus.

Brave Little Melody

I heard you hummin'

sweetly in the pale moonlight,

just a yellow sliver in the sky 

and your melody

floating so softly

You were a ghastly sight,

beautifully illuminated

by the piccolo vibrations

floating from your 

rosy cheeks

I thought life would be just lovely

so full and complete

if there was a banjo 

to accompany you,

oh, how heavenly that'd be

But I did not have a banjo

on that night, so I did the next best thing,

as we got closer,

moving our separate ways

in the pale moonlight,

I sang along to your 

brave little melody.

You were surprised, 

then your cheeks grew redder with embarrassment, 

then we both smiled at each other and continued 

our separate ways,

carrying the song

with my voice and

your humming

First Official Snow

   Hello everyone, today was awesome because today was for me the first official day with snow of the year.  And you might say to yourself, "But Eric, it has snowed a decent number of times already this year!" Yes, that might be true, but I haven't gotten to witness them either because I have slept too long or the snow has melted, or snowed while I was somewhere else. Today my mom and I went shopping and at the outdoor shopping center the snow was falling gently throughout the afternoon, which made it start to truly feel like the holiday season. So here's to the first official snow fall that I have been able to witness!

Another wintery song

I looked out the window and it still seems to be winter, especially this morning when it was really blindingly bright from the sun but there was a bone-chilling wind. There is ice on the ground which is dangerous and surprising when you don't look for it. But really, I mean at least its not Montreal, which I think might be a fun place to visit, but its most likely colder than cold during the weekend.

Take this song by Malajube for instance: there's a line that talks about it being so cold that polar bears ride the buses. And if that's not crazy cold I do not know what is. Without further ado.

Montreal -40C
Malajube

enjoy!



and I'll try to come up with something interesting to talk about for next time..