In the land of ice and snow

Over a year ago, I made the decision I was going to move from Lake Tahoe to Minneapolis. Now that winter is quickly approaching, I’m wondering what the heck I was thinking. Why in the world would I leave my snowboarding heaven for the land of ice and snow?

Maybe I missed the subzero temperatures. Or could it have been the thought 4 months in, it’ll never going to be sunny again? Or was it to prove that I could snowboard on an ice rink? How about being so white I’m reflective? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t any of those reasons.

Don’t get me wrong; I think Minneapolis and Minnesota are great. I use to brag about Minneapolis while living through out California. Minneapolis being one of the greatest hotspots for graphic artists and the boyishly handsome boyfriend of my mine were enough to bring me back. However, I definitely was trying my hardest to block the bitter cold winters far from my thoughts.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I was thinking, “It won’t be that bad. I grew up in it. I’ll be fine.”

I wasn’t listening to the rest of my brain saying, “YOU ARE NUCKING FUTS! -40! It’s been 8 years since you experienced -40!”
When I woke up one chilly October morning to discover snow sticking to the ground, I just wanted to hide. Usually, I’m the one jumping up and down at the first snowfall especially if it comes in early 'cause that means a longer snowboarding season. All I could think was “NOOOOOO! NOT YET! We don’t even have the heat on!”
I kept thinking back to the Halloween blizzard of ’91. I’m not ready for that! I’m not ready! I don’t even have winter boots!
Sure, I can close my eyes and dream I am back in Tahoe. But no matter how much I try and dream away the Minnesota winter, I can’t get away from it. I can only figure out what to do in the land of cold and snow. Like sledding at 2 am in the park down the street from your friend’s house cause there is a few inches of fresh snow. Or waking up just to stay inside and watch movies, drink schnappy hot cocoa, and stare outside as it snows another 6 inches.


I may not have moved back here for the winters but I’m sure somewhere in the middle of putting on that third layer before heading out the door to go shred on the ice or shoveling a path to my car, it will all make sense.