Life at 0 Degrees (Wind Chill That Is)

Woke up this morning to the temperature being a brisk 13 degrees. With the wind chill it was 0 degrees. Here in Atlanta, we are simply not used to this kind of cold. Most of the time we are looking at lows in the 30s highs in the lower 50s. These are perfectly comfortable temperatures necessitating a nice thick jacket on occasion, but not the ten tons of stuff I had to put on this morning to get to work. I had my nice puffy Marmot jacket on (worth every freaking penny I paid for it), scarf, gloves, ski cap, boots, etc.

Usually I would not have to worry about being out in the cold as I have covered parking at my loft and usually park in the garage at my office building which has a nice underground walkway so you needn't take your life in your hands crossing West Peachtree and homocidal Atlanta drivers. And I am only being partly facetitious as there are two people on my floor who have been hit by cars crossing the street. But I digress. I had to park at a street lot this morning because I am not working long enough to get the early bird special at the building garage, and I will be damned if I pay $15 for parking. $3 and a brisk walk is fine with me.

The lot I parked in is only about a block and a half from the building. We call it the Trump lot, since it is a parking lot made in the remnants of the failed Trump Tower condo/hotel/office complex that died a horrid death in the economic crisis of last year. I love the price of this lot (can't beat $3) but it is one where you have to get out of your car first and purchase a ticket then put it on your dashboard. Normally I don't mind, but when it is 0 degrees outside, the less time you have to spend in it the better. There was little to no wind at 6:45am when I got here. And yes, I am a morning person. I never was until I worked at CNN for 6 years doing a 5am to 1pm schedule. You tend to give up fighting it after the second year. Anyway, the walk to the building was not too bad at first. Bracing, but not brutal. About halfway there my face was starting to tingle and my fingers were beginning to tighten up. Still, it didn't feel too bad. About 3/4 of the way there you hit the most godawful wind tunnel between the One Atlantic Center building and the mini-me building across the street from it. It literally felt like someone was picking me up from behind and throwing me backwards. By the time I got to the revolving doors my face was stinging like crazy and I could barely feel my fingers. The wind was so fierce it basically blew me into the building lobby. Suddenly, $3 didn't sound like such a bargain.

I just don't see how people in cold cities, this means you Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, etc., deal with this day in and day out, winter after winter. And in the snow too! Luckily we are not dealing with that yet. That is another story altogether, how Atlanta simply shuts down and its citizens go into severe panic mode anytime there is even a hint of flurries. I guess northern cities deal with the weather like I dealt with my schedule at CNN. After awhile you just have to give into it and deal with it.