First Snow!

So, we had our first big snow this weekend! I immediately learned a few things, which I would like to share with my warmer-climate friends.

–Gloves and scarves are necessary survival equipment, not quaint fashion statements.
–Thick socks aren't always thick enough.
–Waterproof boots have their limits, so it's best to walk where the sidewalk is already cleared instead of sloshing through the soggy slush. Even if it's fun, there's a reason the locals don't do it.
–Shoveling snow for three hours to clear the lot at your work really puts a damper on the "magic" of snow.
–If you don't shovel snow up ASAP because it looks so pretty you just don't want it to go away, then it will re-freeze into an icy, slippery, dangerous, uneven, mess, and your neighbors will think you're terribly inconsiderate.
–It turns out you'll end up shoveling your walkway and the sidewalk at that point anyway, but it will be much harder work.
–Folks on the East Coast are too busy to notice a Californian excitedly making his first city-snowman, even if that snowman is swimming thru the snow, mouth gaping in terror, stick arms paddling wildly, red-berry eyes wide, as a snow shark fin closes in from behind. (That idea was ripped off from the "Snowman House of Horror" in a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.)

A quick job update: I'm obviously back in DC. The bosses and I are spending a week thinking about uses for me in the company which don't involve living in Houston for three months. I'll keep you posted if something interesting happens.