Housewarming Snowstorm

I recently recovered from a cold. I know exactly how I caught it too.

Naomi (in the photo above) was a student at the school I worked at last year. She has since invited me to many things like dinner parties and festival celebrations. Recently, she invited me to her coworker's housewarming party. Mamiko (the coworker) and her husband Julian (from England) recently bought a house here. We had a great night, and I got to meet many new people.

While I was there, it started to snow...HARD, and I couldn't get home by train. At the end of the party, Julian and a few of us went to a bar, and we ended up walking back in the snow for about two hours! It was fun to make snowballs, eat some clean snow, and just see the soft beauty of the city.

But of course that was the night I forgot my scarf and hat and gloves when I ran out the door to meet Naomi. I'm sure that didn't help my health any... By the time I took a cab back to my bike, it was covered in snow, and so was the road. On the way home, I wiped out, going around a corner (but luckily had just enough beer in me to not really feel the full impact)! Photos of the party and snow are HERE.

I'm always glad to experience snow and its gentle beauty and crisp air, but I'm just as glad when it all starts to melt and spring comes along. It's been a colder year than usual here (or so they tell me), with many days under 20 degrees and about 15 days of snow, as opposed to the usual 5 or 6 they have.

Today broke 50 degrees, and I'm happy to say that spring is on it's way...