This past week or so has been really difficult. The unrelenting cold, the bleak landscape, and the vast whiteness all around me have made me question how I'm going to survive the next few months here. This isn't what I'm used to. I'm used to being surrounded by green all year long. To huge bodies of blue water. To grey skies, heavy with moisture. To 200 days of drizzle followed by a brief, but stunningly beautiful summer and the loveliest warm autumn.

People who aren't from the PNW get depressed by the dark, overcast days. I never understood that because the heavy, grey rain was always so comforting to me. The weather was mild and didn't ever deter me from going about my life. In fact, there's nothing I like better than sitting in the steamed-up window of a coffee shop, looking out at the rain in the street. It's cozy.

Now I think I understand what it feels like when the weather affects your mood. This winter is getting me down. I stay indoors as much as possible because the sub-zero temperatures are torture. I haven't worn contacts in three months because they either freeze or the wind blows them out of my eyes. Looking out at the huge snowdrifts and frozen streets makes me feel panicky and trapped. It's weird how all this land can make me feel so claustrophobic, but the city energizes me. I don't know how I'd be feeling if I hadn't spent three of the last seven weeks in Seattle, with less than two weeks to go before another long weekend visit. I know this can't last forever, but it's getting to me.