¡Qué frío!

¡Qué frío!

I just read in the paper yesterday that November here in Valencia was the third coldest month since 1977. I love being involved when records are broken. Just when we were at the coldest of this cold snap my central heating decided to stop working. It won't be fixed until Friday. A lot of good that does me now. I realize that temperatures around freezing are not really that cold for most people, most people with well-insulated homes and central heat. Try that kind of cold with marble floors, drafty windows, and no heat. I walk around the house wearing enough clothes for a polar exhibition and sleep under just about every blanket and sheet in the house. I am reminded of winters in Greece many years ago. About the only respite from the cold is going to the pub. There were some days when I didn't even have the energy to go to the pub. I still went, mind you, I just really wasn't in the mood for it.

Spanish people are almost comically cold-blooded and even slightly cold temperatures will force them into arctic gear and the only words you will hear throughout the day are ¡Qué frío! I usually make fun of my friends for bitching about the “cold” but I'm not laughing any more. Not only am I not laughing, I'm wearing a pair of running tights, sweat pants, a thermal top, and my polar bike jersey. I'd probably have gloves if I could type wearing them. The main thing I notice about this cold spell is that my metabolism...has...slowed...way...the...hell...down. I have missed a lot of bike rides which makes matters worse. I rode yesterday but it's not the same when you aren't able to work up a sweat because you are using too much energy shivering.

I go to the library because it is heated, just like the rest of the hobos. All that I want to eat when it is this cold is soup although with my almost complete lack of exercise I shouldn't eat anything. I should just burrow into my den and sleep off all of this fat and wake up when it is sunny and warm. According to my Google weather page this should be on Friday of this week when I hope that I can ride my bike again in shorts.