Blizzard of 2006

We have broken our record for snow. We have surpassed the 1947 record of 26.4" with a new one of 26.9". And yet New York goes on. nothing shut down, really, it just became more inconvienient. Laguardia closed, making for a very unpleasant night for many passengers who had expected to leave NYC yesterday. I was dog-sitting and the owner called to say that she wouldn't be coming back in until today, which meant bringing this dog and her "luggage" to work with me. I played outside for a bit yesterday, but have to say that I can tell the magic of snow in my childhood has changed considerably. I no longer have to spend hours and hours outside to fulfill my desire to feel that cold precipitation on my face. I'm perfectly happy to watch from inside my cozy apartment. Yesterday I spent almost the whole day indoors, reading the Sunday Times and watching "Sex and the City".

What was great about it was that I have now survived record breaking heat and snow and still love this place. I love living in a city where everything I want or need is mine for the taking. Where I can ski or surf and really enjoy the four seasons. Now I know what New Englanders mean when they say they love their seasons too much to leave. North Carolina definitely has winter but there is never a guarantee of more than a few flakes, and we've never had a white Christmas that I could remember. I moved up here without any true expectations. Because I didn't have those expectations, I can appreciate what has come about during my move and what I have learned about myself. Never before would I have dreamed of going to work with a 12 degree windchill. Now it's becoming not an every day thing but definitely a common thing- something that I have to do.

It makes me feel more a part of the city to be involved in things like this, to be able to say that I was there when the snow started falling. Boyfriend took me to my favorite restaurant- Cafe 123 (Un, Deux, Trois) on Saturday night for our Valentine's Day celebration, and we were walking through the snow in mid-town and laughing and talking- I swear it was something surreal that we live here and everything we do here seems to have a magical ring to it. Everything seems different when you're doing it in NYC. Even going to movies. Maybe it's because everythign is so damn expensive but whatever it is, it definitely works.

I think back to UNC quite a bit, but am much happier away from there. Some people consider the college years to be the best years of your life, but for me I'm thinking it's going to be the years I'm living right now, surrounded by friends in a new place that hasn't lost its charm for me. I'm almost hurt when people talk about how glad they're not living in the city anymore, when Gwyneth Paltrow calls the Village "Disneyland". I can't imagine not loving this place for how much it has evolved and yet remained the same. Only now under about 3 feet of snow.