A snow storm has settled over the city, promising about 20 cm of snow by day’s end. Driving in today was an exercise in patience. I’m still surprised at the occasional idiot driving as if it was a clear summer day out there. Traffic is already going slow; we don’t need a collision to tighten roads and make things even slower. It’s just inconsiderate.

Anyway, it’s in this weather that I decided to go for a long walk during lunch. I just wanted to get away from my desk. So, I put on my leather jacket and gloves and just decided to wander. I went west on King for a while with my jacket unzipped, but soon zipped up when I noticed just how much snow my fleece sweater was holding onto. By the time I got to Bathurst though I overheated to the point where I unzipped myself again. I had no problem toughing it out.

Without a hat, my hair was really collecting a good amount of snow. While walking up Bathurst I encountered this young guy seemed to be dressed kind of grotty in oversized street clothes. He asked for some spare change. Luckily for him I was in the mood to stop. He continued on to say that he was thirsty and wanted to buy a beer or something. Whatever. As I was fishing for change, the guy started commenting on my hair. I think words were failing him. He was telling me how my hair looked awesome with the snow in it. Apparently the snow really only collected along the front giving me this two-tone look. He said was making me look like I had white hair, but he was then quick to correct himself to say that it didn’t mean he thought I was old. Yeeeah, that smacked of a little desperation. In any case, I gave him a dollar and wished him luck.

I went up to Dundas and walked over back to Spadina and Chinatown. Each step was interesting because depending where I walked, the snow might shift or it might be hard and uneven. It was unpredictable. As I passed by, a couple of Chinese old ladies were walking past and smiling at what I’d assume was my snow-caked hair. Walking back south to my building, I noticed the majority of people bundled up with their heads covered. Some were really hunched over in an attempt to maintain some warmth. I don’t know. Too much snow isn’t a good thing because it does become stressful after a while. When we have an occasional storm like this after a period of relatively nice weather I almost feel like this something that we should “own.” Know what I mean? This type of weather is a fact of life in a place that’s blessed with four distinct seasons. The snow was beaning me in the face, and was turning my head into a snow sculpture, but I was happy.

Of course…even though I’m saying all this I’m feeling quite damp right now because all my clothes absorbed a lot of the melted snow. My socks have been laid out on top of my computer tower in an attempt to get them to dry out enough before my commute home. It’s OK. I’ll be just fine. It’s all part of the season.