Mini rant about California winter
Okay, so there are a lot of things on my plate more important and serious than this, but sometimes it feels good to complain about things that aren't that heavy and don't matter very much. Here's the deal: I think California winters are much more unpleasant than, say, Kansas winters or east-coast winters. I've been developing this theory in conversation with friends for a while, and I think I'm ready to state it as a full-blown set of conclusions and stop telling everyone about it.
I'm an odd duck, I suppose, in that I like going for a walk in brisk or even quite cold weather; I like snow; I don't mind driving in a bit of inclement weather, though of course that can be nerve-wracking if the weather is bad enough. But I hate, hate, hate being cold inside my house. So colder-clime winters are perfect: I can go outside and play in the cold and then come back inside and be warm. This is, of course, provided that I have enough money to pay the heating bill - which, despite growing up in relative (US) poverty, was never something on which we skimped too much. I mean, when I was a kid, my mom would keep the thermostat at 66 or 68 Farenheit instead of 70. The heater didn't heat my bedroom as well as the rest of the house, but as long as I was buried under blankets (which is also a delicious feeling, I find, being buried under heavy blankets while the air is chilly; maybe the tip of your nose gets really cold, but the rest of you is toasty), things were a'ight. There was never a question of leaving the heat off for (many) days or weeks after it got cold enough to use it. I suppose that would be really terrible, but my mom always prioritized having heat over, say, having a car. (Again, maybe I'm a weirdo, but ... long walks in the blasting Kansas north wind? Loved 'em. Made me feel tough and invigorated.)
Now the problem with California winters is that, since it never gets that cold, most houses are not properly constructed for heat conservation. They are poorly insulated. Windows often have gaps (and storm windows are not to be found). Instead of central heating, the average home in the Bay Area will have one or two rinky-dink wall heaters. What makes matters worse is that most native Californians are kind of macho about heating. They don't think it should be on except for the two or three coldest days of the year, and they don't even bother to close windows consistently. To me, an open window in November is an anomaly - not out of the question, but always to be remembered and closed at the earliest moment a nice day turns cold. I like being macho about going for long walks in the cold in Kansas. I hate being out-machoed (and therefore being what, weak and soft?) about feeling cold in my house in California.
I always like to think of myself as not-that-typical of my gender, and I suppose this is an example of a case in which I'm quite typical (liking feeling "tough," not liking feeling "weak"). Aside from that, I'm not sure there are any interesting takeaway lessons from this. Please, sarars , let's keep the windows closed until March and find some kind of suitable cat door. (She doesn't read LJ anymore ... but I'm not passive-aggressive or anything!) And sometimes, when I'm bundled up in three layers of shirts and thick socks and still feel cold, I'm going to want to crank it, PG&E be damned. So there.
I'm an odd duck, I suppose, in that I like going for a walk in brisk or even quite cold weather; I like snow; I don't mind driving in a bit of inclement weather, though of course that can be nerve-wracking if the weather is bad enough. But I hate, hate, hate being cold inside my house. So colder-clime winters are perfect: I can go outside and play in the cold and then come back inside and be warm. This is, of course, provided that I have enough money to pay the heating bill - which, despite growing up in relative (US) poverty, was never something on which we skimped too much. I mean, when I was a kid, my mom would keep the thermostat at 66 or 68 Farenheit instead of 70. The heater didn't heat my bedroom as well as the rest of the house, but as long as I was buried under blankets (which is also a delicious feeling, I find, being buried under heavy blankets while the air is chilly; maybe the tip of your nose gets really cold, but the rest of you is toasty), things were a'ight. There was never a question of leaving the heat off for (many) days or weeks after it got cold enough to use it. I suppose that would be really terrible, but my mom always prioritized having heat over, say, having a car. (Again, maybe I'm a weirdo, but ... long walks in the blasting Kansas north wind? Loved 'em. Made me feel tough and invigorated.)
Now the problem with California winters is that, since it never gets that cold, most houses are not properly constructed for heat conservation. They are poorly insulated. Windows often have gaps (and storm windows are not to be found). Instead of central heating, the average home in the Bay Area will have one or two rinky-dink wall heaters. What makes matters worse is that most native Californians are kind of macho about heating. They don't think it should be on except for the two or three coldest days of the year, and they don't even bother to close windows consistently. To me, an open window in November is an anomaly - not out of the question, but always to be remembered and closed at the earliest moment a nice day turns cold. I like being macho about going for long walks in the cold in Kansas. I hate being out-machoed (and therefore being what, weak and soft?) about feeling cold in my house in California.
I always like to think of myself as not-that-typical of my gender, and I suppose this is an example of a case in which I'm quite typical (liking feeling "tough," not liking feeling "weak"). Aside from that, I'm not sure there are any interesting takeaway lessons from this. Please, sarars , let's keep the windows closed until March and find some kind of suitable cat door. (She doesn't read LJ anymore ... but I'm not passive-aggressive or anything!) And sometimes, when I'm bundled up in three layers of shirts and thick socks and still feel cold, I'm going to want to crank it, PG&E be damned. So there.