Monday, December 27, 2010

Canadian Winter


There are a lot of people who dislike winter. The biggest reason is the bitter cold. Contributing factors are the snow and the dangerous road conditions. All in all the winter is inconvenient because it takes more time to get routine things done.

For example, going to work takes a lot more work, right from the start. You have to factor in the additional seconds it may take to put on extra clothing to stay warm, the five to ten minutes it takes to warm the car up and scrape the ice off the windshield, and the time lost driving slower to work in order to arrive safe.


Basically, what you need to survive winter is patience. Expect things to take longer, so start your routines earlier. Drive carefully and slow down. Often people get into accidents because they are unwilling to slow down. Dressing in layers is helpful. If you get too warm, you can always take clothes off.

Another thing people dislike is shoveling snow. I look at it as a chance to get some fresh air and exercise. We have already had our fair share of snow this winter and it has only just begun! I shoveled one night and a couple hours later I looked outside and it had snowed so much it looked like I hadn't shoveled at all.

The snow continued to fall, while shoveling I looked down the street and could only see white. I had to repeat the shoveling process several times over the next few days, although there wasn't much point to digging out my drive way when everything including the roads seemed to be closed. People who did try to drive weren't very successful. Close to 300 people were stranded in their cars and had to be rescued by snow mobile and taken to shelters while the roads were plowed and their cars were saved. They called a state of emergency in my area of the country. Army helicopters were called to assist in rescuing people from their cars, but it was so windy they couldn't operate properly.

2 comments:

  1. This winter's been kinda funny for me. Normally I have absolutely no problem with winter weather, probably because I don't drive. This winter however, I've felt like crap. I'm hating this cold and all this snow for some reason. It might be because this winter I don't have a lot going on in my life, so I don't get a lot of chances to go outside as it is. Now when I find a reason to go out, it's a very unpleasant experience.

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  2. Patience is definitely important to get through a Canadian winter. It takes a lot of time in doors twiddling your thumbs for March to come along again.

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