On notice

Fall is on notice. It's always been my favorite season, but it's about to be demoted. While I love the changing colors and the crispness in the air, I do not love the head full of mucus and the constant sniffling. My skull feels too heavy for my neck and the pressure swirls around inside like floating blobs in a lava lamp. I think I'm especially allergic to mold. Since I've moved to a basement apartment in an old building my allergies have intensified dramatically.

That leaves winter as my new favorite season. Even though I hate driving in the snow, my current situation requires very little driving, if any at all. Ever. I haven't driven my car since March. Jill drops me off on her way to work. If it's hot, I take the bus home. If it's tolerable, I walk.

I stopped driving after getting stuck last winter going up the icy avenues. When I decided to get back behind the wheel, I realized my battery had died. In order to drive my car again, I need to buy and install a new battery, get an auto repair shop to turn off the stupid check engine light (it seems my car has never forgiven me for losing two gas caps in one week), and renew the registration. That's a lot of effort, and effort is my kryptonite.

While I hate driving in the snow, I love walking in the snow. I get to wear sexy boots, I don't get all hot and sweaty, and hardly anyone else is out walking. Not like stupid spring and summer with everyone hogging the sidewalks with their dogs and strollers. I love that winter feels so quiet and still, even when it's snowing. Everything is muted, and it's very calming (as long as I don't have to think about driving in it). And best of all, the snow and ice rids the outside of whatever it is I'm so allergic to right now.