One Misty Moisty Morning

Except that it's not just one, and it's not only in the morning! The mist here has been really thick and there are some days when it doesn't lift. There are sometimes when I can only see a few lampposts ahead of me. It can be a little bit creepy when you get off the bus late at night. It kind of feels like you belong in a murder mystery, and then it seems even creeper. An Italian murder mystery... why does my apartment suddenly seem so far away from the bus stop. Actually, I kind of like the mist!
Dear reader, I have gone back and forth, but I have decided that a post dedicated to the weather is not excessive.
It is cold.
I know, I've seen the facebook posts about how people from Southern California are wimps about cold weather. Fine, I'm a wimp, but it's still cold. I took a screen shot of my computer when the weather said it was -1 degrees. (Ok, that was in Celsius, not Fahrenheit, but it's still cold.)
At the beginning of the semester, the California Study Center had a room of old clothes that past California students had left behind. I took this purplish jacket that was a little big and totally shapeless thinking that I would never actually wear anything that ugly, but it was nice to have it just in case. Come on, I brought my peacoat, I'll be fine! For the past month, I have not stopped wearing that purple coat.
And I have also been reduced to wearing socks with my flats and on the coldest occasions, I have to wear my sneaker shoes. I have even put tights under my jeans!
One night I went out to a concert and had to figure out how to look nice and warm at the same time-- how does one do that?
At the apartment, I often choose to stand or sit on the heater unit things... I don't know what they're called. Before dinner, I stand next to the stove top and warm my hands over the boiling water. And at night, I go to bed wearing socks and a sweatshirt! Tiny Tim, I feel you-- I know what it's like to be cold.
I didn't realize I had to bring my ski gear to survive in Bologna. Which brings me to another point, I now know why skiing exists! (You discover lots of wonderful things while studying abroad.) I think every true Southern Californian has asked himself why we all think it's a good idea to leave our homes and go spend some time where it is, by definition, wet and freezing cold. We have to bundle up so that we can't put our arms down and we experience Jack Frost nipping at our nose, and sometimes it feels more like he's gnawing it off. I now have an answer to this question. When the weather is already like this at your home, why not make it fun by putting on a pair of skis. But here in Bologna, we have these weather conditions, but without the skis. Walking to class in this weather just doesn't give you the same rush.
Someone please remind me of this post when I consider applying to jobs outside of SoCal.