So it begins. This morning we got rain, then hail, then sleet. Thankfully it's been pretty warm, so nothing has really stuck, but still. Winter.

I actually don't mind the first half of winter that much. Thanksgiving and Christmas, pretty lights, holiday food - winter weather is just part of the package. January isn't so bad, either. But by the time my birthday rolls around in late February, I've pretty much had my fill. I am reminded of my first year in Austin. I expected hot weather in August, and even September. The first of October, the locals assured us that within a few weeks the temperatures would drop; I usually woke up in the 7:30-8:30 hour, and it was almost always in the 90s already that early. October came and went. "Oh, it'll cool down by Thanksgiving," they told us. I came back from Thanksgiving break to days still in the 80s quite a bit of the time.

After Christmas break? Still warm. Oh, it wasn't ungodly hot anymore, but a January in the 70s? Bizarre, and I actually kind of didn't like it. But then I thought about my sister, going to KU, routinely trudging through snow and ice on her way to class because they wouldn't cancel even if it wasn't safe for the buses to run. Then I didn't mind it too much.

The weekend of my birthday approached. Unlike my entire childhood, I would have a lovely, warm birthday. I would be able to go out, have fun, and I wouldn't have to worry about bundling up or dealing with icy roads.

February 25: It was about 25 degrees outside, and we got three inches of ice. In Austin, Texas. I think it was warmer in Kansas City.

Back in Austin, which was more trouble than I would have thought. Originally I was to fly in on Saturday, but KCI cancelled flights. They didn't have the decency to do so while I was still at home, but waited until I was in line to board, so that I then had to wait to get my bags back. I spent three hours at the airport to not fly.

Tuesday, made it into Dallas okay on my rescheduled flight, but then my flight to Austin was cancelled; I luckily made it onto the next flight, but everything else that evening was also cancelled, so I spent a fun hour contemplating my overnight stay at the Dallas airport. When I did make it back, it was icy in Austin but certainly not the terrifying frosty nightmare they were making it out to be. I get that they're not used to the ice and such, but I had to laugh when the weather guy commented on the BITTER COLD, when it was a full thirty degrees warmer than it was in KC. And there, we went ahead and drove on the snow-ice mix to go sledding, by God.

Christmas break itself was good, although Laura and I were trying to figure out how exactly we managed to stay occupied for a month when in retrospect we didn't seem to actually have done anything. But it was a nice break, and I'm rested and ready to start writing again (although not today, heh).