Signs It Might Be Cold

I am from California. The part of California that doesn’t have snow for 72 years. The part of California that when it does have its once-in-a-life-time-snow shuts completely down and tries using street sweepers on the snow. The part of California that posts freezing advisories during the weather bit of the news. The part of California that is afraid of freezing temperatures. The part of California that thinks fog is winter. The part of California that can wear flipflops all year if it wants to.

Now I am not completely ignorant of what the rest of the world calls winter. I was born in Colorado. I have visited my grandma in Chicago. I have been skiing. I have been to the mountains in January. But there is something about living in it, somethings you just don’t expect. So here are my top 5 signs it might be colder than a Californian is used to:

1) The snow on the rim of the chimneys is still there even though there is smoke coming out.
2) You go outside and think, “Wow, it is rather warm today.” You check the day’s temperature and learn it was 28 degrees F, instead of the 8 degrees F of yesterday.
3) You stop wearing your glasses on errands because they fog up when you go outside and when you go back inside.
4) Your neighborhood 7-11 mini store’s freezer section is out on the sidewalk. Below is the seafood section:


5) Your neighborhood 7-11 ministore’s freezer section is more frozen than if it were in the freezer inside. Below is the ice cream section:


So yeah, it is a little cold here. And it is only the beginning of December. Folks keep telling me to wait for January before I can say it is cold. They are crazy. It is cold now. But that could just be the California talking.