Sundog

It is the end of February and it was -48 celsius below. You cannot imagine what that kind of cold entails. Just think pain, it is painful.

And then I arrived at work and looked out my windown and into the sky and beheld 3 suns in the sky. Was I dead? Was I in hell, still working after the apacolypse? Or possibly I have just been reading too many graphic novels.

Then I realised this is a sundog, known to occur only on super cold days. While the photo below is not the view from my office window, it does show you an example of what a sundog looks like.


A sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, for "beside the sun") is a common bright circular spot on a solar halo. It is an atmospheric optical phenomena primarily associated with the reflection of sunlight by small ice crystals. Often, two sun dogs can be seen (one on each side of the sun) simultaneously.

People running

You know what always makes me laugh in winter?

Runners.

No not the kind of people in their track suits running down the street and being insane. That is funny, but not as funny as how many people run in the winter cause its damn cold.

Every morning while I wait for the bus I see people in heels, in their work outfits, with their lunch boxes and suitcases shuffling down the street. Its a modified run that seeks to minimize slippage on the ice.

It makes me laugh because spontaneous running is something I associate with children. Children will run in their normal clothes, adults don't.

oh my what desperate measures we will go to to find warmth.

Wanting to slow down and be alone

Lately I have felt a slave to my todo list. The stress at work has been mounting in the past two weeks that essentially forced me into a little breakdown over the weekend. My long days seem full of other peoples needs and no time for myself, my interests or my thoughts. This todo list I created, I agreed to, I volunteered for. And all of a sudden it hits me that its all too much. I can't keep going at this pace.

So I'm trying to say no more. Today I was asked to lunch from a friend, I said yes and then realized, this was one hour for myself and called her back to say no. This was really difficult for me, I hate to agree to something and then have to change my mind. But I am happy I did so. Its one hour to go for a walk, have a coffee and not think about someone else's happiness.