Winter in Christchurch … tell me how you really feel!

Let’s be honest, we get sick of talking about the weather. It is pretty much a recognised condition. In fact, I’m sure it’s coming up in future episodes of Greys Anatomy or Shortland Street – of course the twist is that the sickness is actually terminal and Dr Warner secretly fathered a mysterious love child who will never get to see its mother. I digress. But despite our inner disdain for talking about the weather (because it seems to imply we have nothing else worthwhile to talk about it) we still continue to discuss it – and I’m going to do some more right now, if I can make it through without hurling. Like Wayne told Garth: “I give you a guaranteed no-hurl policy”. Maybe.

So here am I asking the question: How do these Christchurch winters make you feel? If my wife read this blog and answered that question, I’d probably have to censor it – so yeh she hates them, with the sort of malice reserved for Paris Hilton publicity stunts and Britney Spears singles. She drags herself through winter, clinging to anything putting out heat (hasn’t quite resorted to hugging strangers in the street, but watch out if it gets any colder) and grits her teeth until some time in early December. Aside from that she actually enjoys the grand city of Christchurch. So she’s what Stevie Wonder would call a part-time lover of Christchurch. Me, on the other hand, while disliking stinging southerly sleet in the face is happy enough to hunker down for the winter, tough it out, maybe bust out the snowboard now and then and realise that it just means summer is next. See you have to keep that in mind. The whole time through summer you’re thinking ‘oh dang this is all going to end soon’ whereas at least as you’re boxing your way through winter you’ve got summer on the horizon, the dark, grey, wet horizon. Make sense? Nope didn’t think so.

Ok so I do have a confession. I don’t enjoy this ongoing winter blast we’re having right now. Like some people, nasty weather is ok in small doses. But then it gets cocky and overstays its welcome until the weather committee actually get together and vote that southerly storm off the island, where it dies a slow and lonely death somewhere out there in the Pacific Ocean. Tragic, really.

But it makes me realise why we talk about the weather so much, simply because it really does affect everything we do. It was a night in tonight, watching TV. Sorry but in my books that’s a night underutilised. I’d much rather be out and about. Down at the beach, in town, visiting friends – not sitting at home watching other people have a life. I’ll just have to find productive indoor activities … sorry I’m actually starting to feel a little ill, I better go lie down.