Turning seasons

I left Berlin for the weekend in the throes of an Indian summer and came back on Monday to winter. It was sunny yesterday, but it might as well have been snowing. Suddenly all the little outside activities I've been enjoying are not so pleasant. Biking for example. I wrap myself up in layers, only to have the cold air sneak into any opening possible as I'm whisking through the streets. My fingers turn to icicles. I think about my little red Chevy and how great the heat works.

This morning when I woke up at 7 a.m. for my run, there was still a touch of darkness to the sky. I had to drag myself out of my warm blankets and dress like I was going sledding. Even the swans weren't on the channel.

I am praying this is a fluke and the warm weather will return.

Lesson learned: I need to buy a pair of gloves.

Yay for sunshine

Yesterday was the first day since I've been here that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It actually stayed like that the whole day, which is a bit of a miracle. It was very pleasant to ride my bike to work, without that compulsive twitch I'm developing to grab for my rain jacket. It was hard to be in the office on a day like that, and I'm thinking next time (please let there be a next time), I will try to think up some story that requires me to get out and ride around. So far a lot of my stories are ones that require phone conversations, since my sources are often American. After I finished work, I rode around a bit and did some errands, trying to catch the last of the sun's rays while they lasted.

I sort of slipped into a mini-depression when I woke up to grey skies this morning, like a fifth-grader whose boyfriend just broke up with me. The sun is really a tease here.

Lesson learned: California has me spoiled.

Count down

Four days and counting. I can't believe I'm going to be on the other side of the world in less than a week.

The weather is making it a little tough to leave California though. It is supposed to be 80 degrees today. I looked up the weather in Japan: It's 20 degrees Fahrenheit and snowing. It's the snow I've been waiting for all winter, just in the wrong venue.

I'm not complaining. I'm really excited for this, frostbite or not.

Another recent development is that my sister may be joining me at the end of my trip. My boss okayed staying for an extra week, but changing my ticket could prove tricky. I have to wait till I get to Japan, and I won't know what the cost is till I do it. Cross you fingers that it all works out.