This Is Not How I Remembered The Sunshine State

After a much needed trip home, I am returned to an extremely cold Florida.

It is to my understanding that it snowed in Central Florida, North Florida, and South Florida. I am amazed with this. (And a little bit bitter too because I have always wanted to see snow.) Before I left for Jamaica my parents and I were joking that we should have taken our up north trip this year because we definitely would have seen snow, but evidently they did not have to leave home for that either.

Once again I posted a status on facebook that caused a bit of trouble. It said:
"You see, the difference between hot & cold is that when it is hot there are ample ways of cooling down; when it is cold, warming up is almost impossible."

Most folks agreed with me but two did not, and one of the two was willing to argue it out. In the end, I still stand by what I said-as does he. I had always loved the cold and felt for a long period that I would much rather be cold than hot. At this point in my life, I have changed that view completely.

What are my ample ways of cooling down?

1. Clothes. There are clothes that girls especially can wear in the heat so that they are comfortable. For guys, it may be a bit more difficult since most of them choose to wear layers of clothing. (The boxers, the marina, the undershirt, the thick jeans pants, the socks, and the sneakers.) Girls can simply wear underwear, shorts, and a tank top and be just fine.

2. Standing in the shade. This method is far more effective in a place like Jamaica where there is almost always a breeze. In Florida, the shade might help, but it also might not.

3. Swimming. (You knew this one going to be an option, do not act so surprised.)

4. A cool or even a hot shower. After taking a shower, I find it very hard to get back to being "very hot." For some reason, once that sweat is washed off once, it kind of stays off at least until the next day. Whether it is a cold shower or a hot one it still works. If the cold water does not cool you off, the air when you step out of the hot shower will.

5. The Cold Beverage. Cold water can never taste as good as it does when you are hot and parched. It also is never as refreshing. I usually feel the coldness of the water literally flowing through my body and cooling me down from the inside out.

6. Artificial air; the air condition/fan. In Florida, every building is ventilated, so standing fans and ceiling fans are the least. However, they come in very useful in a place like Jamaica where people would rather open their windows and rely on the breeze than run the one-room air conditioner (if they have one).

Furthermore, I believe that layers of clothing do not keep you warm. You still shiver, your ears, nose, and fingers still freeze, and you still hurry to try and get inside the nearest building--which is not warm just warmer than outside. The cold is virtually inescapable. It seeps through walls and windows and makes the house and car cold (sometimes even colder than outside, if your house is anything like mine) unless you run the heater constantly. Still, I find the heater and layers of clothing uncomfortable.

At any rate, I do not understand why it is this cold, but now it seems people are finally realising that something strange is going on in the world. There was a 7.3 earthquake in Haiti and a 7 minute earthquake in California. There was also a brief tsunami watch for Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. I call that a sign.

Something crazy is unfolding, and it is doing so right before our eyes.