Random weather

I griped a week or so ago about the fact that it was June and we had snow down. In fact, I don't think I'm the only northern blogger who has complained about the snow still occasionally falling from the sky. And hell, a quick look out my window shows the ice in the bay is in no danger of disappearing anytime soon, although there are signs of it starting to break up.

But here's the thing...the place is at least safe. The only way the weather is going to kill me is if I'm spectacularly stupid or careless. I know better than to go outside in February wearing a leather jacket. Fuck no, I'm wearing the Big Fucking Coat and anything else that keeps me warm. I wouldn't dream of wandering too far outside of Iqaluit without having someone who knew his or her way around because I have no sense of direction with this geography.

But there are very few random, unpredictable ways for weather to kill you. Unlike, say, living in Iowa last week.



Now, I'll give the woman props. She grabbed her camera and got a picture. My first reaction would have been "Holy Fuck!" and to run screaming like a little girl. But no, she got the photo. Good on her. She's absolutely fucking insane, but hey, nice picture.

And that's the thing...I have family and friends in the mid-west right now. Cathy's brother spent a few days warily eying the water level near the new house he's renting in Indianopolis (one good thing about the mortgage crunch, apparently, is that you can rent really nice places very cheap these days). Lots of flooding around his place, although it never got really bad around where he was. Still, a bit of a scare.

And my friends in Omaha spent three or four nights last week hiding in their basement after the tornado sirens went off. Now, she was pretty blaise about it, having gone through this more than a few times in her life. Still, there's something a touch freaky about the possibility of a giant, swirling finger of death coming down from upon high, totally at random, and killing you and everyone around you. And being blaise about the possibility.

So yeah, snow in June....not so bad really. And hey, it even got up to 17C today, which is positively tropical for up here. Why would I want to go?

Last Five
1. My friend John - The Fratellis
2. She's walking out - The Stills
3. Get him back - Fiona Apple
4. Last living souls - Gorillaz
5. Welcome to the jungle - Guns 'N Roses