Making It Up As I Go Along #245

MONDAY…
--- Day off work and I have lunch with Christina (friend from home) before taking her to the airport. Other than that, a few groceries and some relaxing.

TUESDAY…
--- Sick day. Feeling run down and my throat and sinuses are not too happy today… so I stay home and rest.

WEDNESDAY…
--- Work is pretty normal. I split a pizza with Megan for supper and watch a show about global warming and the quacks hired by big business to pretend to be scientists who believe people have no influence over the climate.

THURSDAY…
--- In early for some supervisor type stuff… to go with lunch. Work is alright, pretty busy but alright.

FRIDAY…
--- Quiet morning… work is fine, keep pretty busy but not run silly. It’s a reduced Friday staff too so that makes it easier to work in peace.

SATURDAY…
--- Laziness for a while and then off to Shannon’s with pizza in tow and a night of The Life of Brian. Possibly the funniest movie ever made.


The Greyness of Home
One’s environment can make all the difference in life. I come from a grey place. Newfoundland has spectacular views and a wildness to it unlike most of North America. But one thing it can not boast is an abundance of sunshine. Fog, drizzle, cloud, snow… through the year you can literally go weeks without seeing your shadow.

When I moved to Ottawa, I came to a place that is much warmer in the summer, much colder in the winter, and there is actually a season called Spring. And one other thing that actually took getting used to for me in Ottawa… the sun. Summer is a sunny time and, despite the cold, winter days are often cloudless. Sunglasses are a must in Ottawa.

However, the last month has been a time of familiarity for me. When friends and co-workers walk around mumbling about the drizzle and cloud, I’ve actually picked up a bounce in my step. For this fall has been like home.

It makes me realize how messed up Newfoundland can make a person. Or, if messed up is too harsh a characterization, unique can surely be used. You see, growing up in a land of grey has rubbed off on me.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a sunny day. I’d take sun over cloud most any day. But it wasn’t until this extended period of cloud cover that I realized an astounding fact. For me, grey is home.

I have never felt more at home within the city of Ottawa as I have over the last month. Drizzle moistens the face. Pavement is in a constant state of dampness. And that familiar cloud pattern I grew up with hangs over the city. Shades of grey… some near white and others more dirty, as a reflection of roadside snow that has been painted by the exhaust of cars. The shades of grey give the sky depth… it feels almost like a great wool sweater pulled over the city.

A fleece and my hiking rain shell are all I need. A ball cap keeps the wet away from my glasses and I comfortably stride through the city feeling solid with the damp air around me.

Others are annoyed. They’re used to sun and ready for the cold that overtakes the city around this time of year. I’ve never gotten used to that coldness though. It rips the breath from my lungs and leaves me huddling for salvation.

Yet this month, where temperatures have stayed above normal, it is the locals huddling. I had huddled against cold… they huddle against the wet. But I embrace the wetness and am thankful for the mild temperatures.

One day this week, I walk to the office with Laura. Gusts of wind spit the drizzle at us and she almost jumps with fright at each gust. Being a friend, she offers her umbrella to me… trying to hold it between us… to shelter us from the weather.

But the gusts try to turn the umbrella into a kite. Laura struggles to control it and I back away and tell her to keep it for herself.

I’ve never been used to umbrellas. I own one but it hasn’t moved from its perch in over a year. In Newfoundland, the wind is too strong to make an umbrella practical. A rain coat and good cap beat an umbrella every time.

So on a day like mine with Laura, I prefer the damp cheeks and walk with hands in pockets. I feel free this way. I’m comfortable… at home.

And next to me, Laura yelps and curses as the wind wrenches the umbrella within her grip. For her the walk can’t end soon enough… yet for me, it’s nice and memorable as a stroll with a friend just before work.