The South. In January. Bleh.

There cannot be a place more depressing than The South (as a vast region), in winter. I have lived here a good part of my live now, long enough that I grudgingly call myself a Southerner, and every place I've lived since 1998 has the same feel to it come January and February.

Let me start with the architecture. The South is not really know for anything past the glamourama Antebellum homes in produced in the 1870s through the 1890s. There's just nothing there to get excited about. Gray stone and concrete and more concrete, built up into buildings that aspire to be grand but usually give out around 6 floors. Add to that the fact that The South used to be a major industrial GIANT, but is no longer that major and the problem starts to become apparent. Mile after mile of abandoned factories and warehouses, usually covered in graffiti and sporting broken windows. They look like they could just chomp you up in one bite. WHOOMP! Creepy.

The only claim to fame that The South has in the winter is the weather. Occasionally there will be a slight dusting of snow or maybe (oh joy!) an icestorm. I ignore the updates from the Office Trolls at The Corporation who are compelled to scan the weather headlines every 20 seconds or so, and I just PRAY that something exciting will happen weather-wise. Then I can snuggle up under the covers with a book and a mug of cocoa. It doesn't take much to please this girl. I remember a few years ago when I lived in a much more eastern section of The South, and there were icestorms practically every week for 2 months. That was the best winter ever- I stood in my apartment with the cocoa and watched brave/stupid souls try to navigate the treacherous roads and slide around. It was so damn entertaining. In The South when there is a prediction for any sort of frozen precipitation the grocery stores go on Red Alert. Bread, milk, and eggs are whipped up and out the door faster than you can say "French Toast".

But the frozen stuff is a rare event, particularly in The City. So I have to endure the rain. Buckets and buckets of rain fall from January to March. Gray skies, drippy eaves, Lake Parkinglot, and mold are all a big part of the fun. For Another Heather like me with SAD (like they couldn't come up with a better term for seasonal depression), the sun is a necessity in mental health. So I have come up with things to do that keep me distracted and happy, and even, perhaps, in that rare bit of sunlight we sometimes see. This week has been all about quilting (I've been working on the thing for 5 years), doing Sudoku puzzles, watching the Food Network, and now I'm trying my hand at blogging. I have a lot to say folks, at least I think I might. So I guess the shitty weather that is making me miserable is a good start.