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It looks like this week is going to be full of snow. Tyler, my neighbor is thinking that classes might even be cancelled. I highly doubt that a little wind and snow, with perhaps foot deep accumulation is enough to cancel classes. Anyways, it was snowing today so I decided to take a quick video of it, even though you can’t really see the snow falling cause it was already getting somewhat dark outside.

Yes, I was corny enough to use “Wizards of Winter” as the background music for this!!!

wintry mix

Originally uploaded by lableupunn_tux

WTF is wintry mix?!?!? Since having arrived in Madison, my list of weather jargon has had to expand, where it was once composed of 8 terms (sunny, cloudy, party cloudy, showers, scattered thunderstorms, thunderstorms, and hurricane) it now house a myriad of of new winter related terms. Until recently I had never before witnessed “rain” as an actual weather phenomena, we have “showers.” However, there is a big difference, rain is annoying, lingers around all day, and is just enough to annoy the hell out of you. Showers on the other hand do their thing and subside. So what is a wintry mix then? I suppose since the temperature is above freezing, it must involve rain, some mushy snow, and flurry. Yes, “flurry” is also a new term. Think of it as a McDonald’s McFlurry, mushy snow with rain. Snow time is definitely approaching.

snowflake

Originally uploaded by lableupunn_tux

I suppose I’ll make my first post giddy with excitement about winter. While it was utterly cold yesterday. Well, at least colder than what I am used to, there was snow. Real snow this time, not the slush that has been falling for the past couple of days. This time it was cold enough for the snowflakes to solidify and form shapes. Mind you, this is the first time I’ve ever seen one. The shapes they form are amazing , you can’t help but admire nature’s beauty. I couldn’t help it, I had to take a picture, a bad one at that since my phone can’t focus on nearby things. Unfortunately this photo doesn’t fully capture the beauty of that snowflake.

With that out of the way, yesterday was quite interesting as I attempted another trip to the suburbs. Unlike my trip on Saturday, I actually made it to the correct place (Super Walmart). However, after finding myself in possibly one of the worst neighborhoods in Madison, I can’t help but to have second thoughts about my trip. Perhaps I shouldn’t have ventured somewhere I’ve never been and know nothing about by myself. It sort of tells you something when you have the fairest skin in the bus, and look completely out of place. Nevertheless, I ventured on and got what I needed. Getting back now proved to be more difficult, Walmarts are so different up north, the parking lot is in the basement, and the only part of the store that has an exit/entrance at ground level is the garden. Which, if you are not accustomed to it can be quite confusing, especially if you have 10 minutes to catch a bus. Needless to say, I got lost. The walmart had people escalators and shopping cart escalators (really cool, I would have taken a picture, but I would have looked like a retard) which lead to the underground parking garage. That exit was on the other side of where I needed to be, it was dark out already, and I was in a bad part of town. So I proceeded to gather by bags and walk with them to where I had gotten off of the bus. As I got there, the bust I thought I was supposed to get on was leaving. It was a good thing it left however, because that would have taken me in the wrong direction. I walked around a bit, trying to find the correct bus stop on the proper side of the street (not used to public transportation), while carrying my heavy bags. Soon enough, after walking a bit, I had found the bus stop, all that was left was to wait for the bus in 27 degree weather in the dark by myself. As I waited, every time I hard a rustle I would prepare myself for the worst, but soon enough the bus came and I was on my way back to campus.