The Cruelest Month

T.S. Eliot said that "April is the cruelest month." Well, let me just say, T.S. Eliot was completely wrong. Dead wrong. Did you hear me, Eliot? WRONG. At least by Provo, Utah standards. February is by far the cruelest, cruelest month. In Utah, February means grey skies, dirty snow, freezing cold temperatures, and no more breaks for the rest of a very long semester. And even though February is the shortest month, it seems to drag on and on in a steady stream of slow, painful days. Seriously, the world (aka-my world, aka-Provo) aches in February. I'm sure of it.

March is a two-edged sword because it's long and busy and teases me with periodic days of spring, followed by random days of driving snow. It's unpredictable, but I can always get through it because I know that summer is coming. (Ah, summer! How I LOVE thee!) Anyway, April is rough because I'm usually going crazy with research projects and cramming for finals, but it ends pretty quickly and then I'm off to that most blessed of seasons. Summer. Sigh.

I really wish it was summer (can you tell?). I miss feeling the sun. It's one of the best feelings in the world. I miss picnics. And flying kites. And dance parties. And barbecues. And camping. And swimming. And even the way the EFY office turns upside down during the months of May-August. It's just a good time all around.

But it's not summer. It's February. And I ought not to go around wishing my life away. What Iought to be doing is my 6-8 page rough draft research paper that's due tomorrow. And I oughtto finish A Separate Peace (also due tomorrow). And I ought to get a good start on Ender's Game so that I can work on another project due on Thursday. Goo. I hate February.

COLD

In the past couple of days, Provo weather has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. What was once mildly unpleasant cold is now biting, ear-numbing, skin-cracking frigidity (word?). To add insult to injury, the weather has brought me a different kind of cold. For the past couple of days, my throat has had a slight itchiness to it, but yesterday night my nose started dripping. Today my eyes are burning and my brain feels all fuzzy. Not good. Not good at all. I'm taking Dayquil and decongestant, hoping to get over the sickiness before it can really take hold. I'm praying I can get over this fast because on Friday I'm heading up to the cabin for a fun-filled, worry-free weekend. Somehow my weekend won't be quite so... fun-filled if my nose is running the whole time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that modern medicine will work it's magic... and fast.

Let me end this post with a picture of my blessed weekend destination. It doesn't fully capture the beauty of the surrounding area, but it makes me happy all the same.



Kamas here I come!