Yup, still cold.

I think this story says all I need to say about the temperatures around here.

With some luck, the weather forecast may be correct (which is as likely as "Shaft" airing on Lifetime) and we'll only be a few ticks below zero.

The Kia could definitely use it. The E-brake has a tendency to lock up from time to time in the cold, and when it's -35 or colder there's no unjamming it. I need to get new spark plugs, but there's no way to work on the dang thing with thick gloves on. I got the new plugs just sitting on my dresser, teasing me. But Josh + car work = an awkward situation, and adding thick gloves can only spell disaster. So disastrous that you can spell something with a math equation.


And thinner gloves for a short period of time is not an option. I put in a new headlight at -10 degrees and couldn't open the casing or work the wiring with my winter gloves on, so I switched to some thin gardening gloves. I had to go inside 10 minutes later and soak my fingers in warm water to regain feeling.


Come to think of it, I've been doing OK with the dryness, the cold and the isolation, but gloves have been my nemesis. I've never owned a pair before moving to Alaska and only worn them twice back then. I completely underestimated how much they limit your digital mobility.


When I'm wearing gloves, my hands are as secure as a 5-year-old's. I drop keys, mail, hot beats, coffee mugs and pretty much anything that I can't tie to my wrist. Half the time, I don't even notice it. There have been at least two instances in which I've ran into the parking lot at -15 degrees to retrieve a piece of mail in the snow. Simple tasks like reaching into pockets or unlocking a door (even using a keychain button) increase in difficulty at least tenfold.

But so much to the wind, eh?

Ahgh!

The fuel truck just pulled up and is refilling the building's gas. I've had my thermostat set on 88 to keep it about 65 in here. I thought it was just my heating system struggling against three straight -40 days, but it seems the gas was low, so I gotta turn that down before it becomes an oven in here. ...

Well, crisis averted. Not that 88 degrees would be horrible, but I fear that if my apartment is more than 120 degrees warmer than the outside air, diffusion might cause the Box to explode like a space station with a crack in the window.

And that's all for the moment. Drink one for me.