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Baby, It's Cold Outside
December 08, 2006I thought Wichita Falls got cold every once in a while.
I used to curse the icy winds that whipped through there in winter.
But that was really nothing compared to what goes on in the nation's capital.
Standing at the bus stop this morning became an exercise in endurance.
Freezing wind swooped in like a bird of prey and tugged at my coat and scarf. My eyes watered, and I started think, "Cab!" although I toughed it out until the bus got there.
And that was this morning.
By about 9 p.m., the wind chill factor was 18 degrees, and the plain ol' temperature was 27 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Today, I drank hot Earl Grey tea and hot chocolate for the first time this year. I doubled up on shirts and wore my warm hiking boots and thick socks.
But even now, I'm cowering at my desk, trying to get up the nerve to leave.
The newscasters have been talking about an "early winter."
Yikes.
That's all I can say.
Yikes.
Posted by Trish Choate at 08:41 PM | Permalink
"You're beautiful!"
December 07, 2006The first time it happened, I was squinting at my computer, trying to get my e-mail to work at my new job.
I blushed, ear to ear, and thought that Scripps Howard's Washington bureau might not be a bad place to work -- even though I was missing my coworkers at the Times Record News.
Just across the aisle from me here at the bureau sits one of the biggest brains in Scripps Howard. I'll leave the reporter's identity secret to give him his privacy.
But I'm in awe of his powers of perception and his journalistic prowess.
When I first came to bureau the resident IT god was on vacation, and I had to take a backdoor route to get to e-mail. It was slow and scary.
It was while waiting for my e-mail to load -- and hoping it would -- that I first heard a phrase I've now come to expect and look forward to.
"You're beautiful!" echoed across the newsroom in confident, convincing tones.
I looked up. Finally, SOMEONE had noticed. I was flattered but ready to accept my due as one of the beautiful people. I wasn't going to deny it.
Then my colleague across the aisle started chatting with his wife, and I realized nobody was telling me I was beautiful.
He has a tradition of declaring as soon as his wife answers the phone, "You're beautiful!"
And even though it's not meant for me, I still get a little lift from it.
Posted by Trish Choate at 09:01 PM | Permalink
