I grew up in the Midwest. I know COLD. I remember windchill factor and I recall missing school because of snowdays. I was a kid, cold was COOL, hell, I spent my winters shoveling driveways for like 2 bucks a pop. And I KNOW they were snickering watching me scrape the ice from their sidewalks as their fat asses sipped coffee in the warmth of their kitchen. I didn’t care, 2 bucks was 2 bucks, and it’s not like my baseball card collection paid for itself.
My first REAL job took me to Nebraska, also the Midwest, also cold as a MotherF***er. I must have been a glutton for punishment. It took me a few years to realize I hated windchill, and I damn sure didn’t want to shovel anymore driveways; let some 14-year old pick up a few bucks WHILE I SIP COFFEE IN THE KITCHEN. Besides, I sold my Johnny Bench rookie card years ago.
Hello Las Vegas. I loved Vegas- all 15 years. Cold was a distant memory. Vegas taught me that my body loves the heat like a mosquito to a candle.
Enter Costa Rica. Hello tropics. I love Costa Rica. However, my faith in the weather here was severely put to the test yesterday and for a moment....... I considered Fiji.
Acclimating to COLD is NOT like riding a bike- your body doesn’t remember SHIT. Me, my body goes into survival mode under 72 degrees, complete with shivering.
I’m here to tell you, yesterday was the coldest day in Costa Rican history. Well, at least my history, which is all of 3 ½ years. I couldn’t work. I decided I was taking a SNOW day; huddled on the couch, bundled up, in complete survival mode. (Wasn’t it the best feeling in the world when the radio alarm clock went off and you heard YOUR school declaring a Snow day?)
At one point I recall looking at D’Angelo, wondering if I could EAT him if it came to that.
Don’t laugh, but we actually turned on the dryer to generate some heat in our apartment. In the States, the dryers have some sort of metal or flexible aluminum tubing that runs from the dryer to a vent in the wall, releasing the hot air. Here, most houses or apartments were NOT built with a ‘vent’ in the wall. Instead, the tubing from our dryer goes into a small canister filled half-way with water. Don’t try to picture it, just take my word. Put it this way, when we turn on our dryer, it gets VERY hot in our apartment, the windows even steam up. Think sauna. But yesterday it was a godsend.
Today, thankfully, we’re back to normal (D’Angelo is safe for now), but I just had to check, I KNOW there had to be a record set yesterday in La Fortuna Costa Rica.
I consulted the internet.
Yup, I was right. Yesterday DID set a record; last time it was even close to being this cold was back in 1946.
Yesterday, in La Fortuna Costa Rica it was a bone-chilling 65 degrees.
Hot chocolate anyone?
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