What's the worst thing about winter?

The BBQ Pit
1

Well, it’s that time again. It’s completely white outside (which is a good sign because, as we all know, if it’s snowing that means it can’t be too cold …) and I’m bitter. I hate winter. The only good thing about it is that it means we have a lovely spring and fall.

Although this is really more of a poll I put it in the Pit because of all the resentment that I’m sure this discussion will bring to the surface. I can feel it welling up inside me as we speak.

So, what’s the worst part about winter?

Is it the fact that it takes ten times longer to get to work, because of snow on the train tracks or super-crowded streetcars that you can’t get on or because it’s too cold to bike?

Or is it the dry, flaky skin?

Or constantly being cold?

These are all mild irritants compared to the resentment I feel towards the enormous amounts of time that I spend in the winter getting dressed and undressed. Honestly. Underwear, tights, socks, pants, top, another top, another top. (My knee itches but I can’t reach it through the layers.) Then, when it’s time to go outside: sweater, coat (zip, button, velcro), boots (find, squeeze in, lace up, buckle,) scarf & mittens & hat (which all like to hide from you) … remove mittens, unzip coat, unbutton sweater, remove keys from pocket … button sweater, zip up coat, put mittens back on …

Then you come home and you can’t do anything until you take off your boots (unless you want to track snow all over the house) which means you must take off your mittens and unzip your coat (because mine is so big I can’t bend over properly in it), and by then you will no doubt be uncomfortably hot from wearing so many clothes indoors, and you will really, really have to pee but there are so many more layers between you and peeing …

and sex … well … let’s just say it’s hard to tear off clothing in the heat of the moment when there’s so damn much of it!

Fucking winter.

2

Achey, creaky joints are the worst part of Winter for me. :frowning:

3

**** -48C TEMPERATURES ~ That’s -54C! ****

That was last night’s temperature, where I am. Of course, that’s windchill factored in. I don’t care WHAT is factored in, that temperature just HURTS. Plain and simple.

Then there’s the praying to the Car Battery God that your car actually starts in those kinds of temperatures.

Then there’s my pipes freezing. Joy.

And then most sadly, the stray cats. :frowning: I’d take them in, especially in this weather, but they’re wild and scared. So I leave some food out and try to arrange the stuff on my patio to be somewhat of a wind barrier for them.

Indeed, winter sucks.

4

No NASCAR.

5

Well, it’s a three-way tie for me.

1–Being trapped inside for three to five months with small, overly-energetic children.

2–Constantly having to spot-clean my carpet near the door because of all the salty snowmelt buildup.

3–Baby Snowsuits. Enough said.

6

Wake up in the morning, it’s dark.

Get out of work in the evening, it’s dark.

It’s like living your whole life at midnight.

For me, this ties with the cold for the Worst Thing About Winter Award.

7

Oooooh ! all good suggestions. I’d forgotten about the frozen pipes and constant darkness. But I now feel much better because I don’t drive, have children, or live any farther north than I do ! Thanks, guys !

There’s just so much to hate about winter. When you don’t participate in winter sports, there’s really nothing to sell it but the fact that it’s pretty. And it really ain’t that pretty !

8

I would taunt you with the fact that it’s 62 F right now here in Texas; but then you’d mock me when I whine about the 100+ temps in August.

9

Since I’m in Florida, the winter weather isn’t all that bad. But the reduced daylight is definitely no fun. I know it’s going to be worse when I move to Maryland. Oh well, what ya gonna do??

10

For me, having moved to north of Buffalo within the last two years, the worst thing about winter is having to hear the locals drone on and on about winters past. “You think this winter is bad? Why, back in '97 we had eight feet of snow in Buffalo. And back in '83 it was so cold all the beer froze. I remember back in '64, I took a cup of coffee outside and it froze in 25 seconds. Of course, that wasn’t as bad as '32, when it snowed so much the drifts were higher than a ten-story building. And…blah blah blah…”

11

It’s fucking cold. You have to wear lots of clothing, whereas I’d wear a loincloth if I could get away with it.

(GMRyujin Quote of the Day: "It’s a job interview. The vibe I wanna give off is ‘I’d be a great professional that’d do wonders for your company’, not ‘I’m not wearing any underpants.’)

And no matter how much you wear, the cold seeps in and makes you cold. Unless it doesn’t, then you’re hot and sweaty. It’s like summer, without the advantages.

12

I 2nd the constant darkness as the worst thing about winter (Madison, WI resident here).

Dark when you wake up, dark when you drive home, and gray the rest of the time. Blahh.

The wind sucks too. I actually don’t mind the cold, I think it’s bracing and invigorating (unless it’s ridiculous, like -20 or something). The wind though gets down your shirt and up your sleeves and you just can’t get warm again.

Only 60 (or so) mroe days to go!

13

This is just a little annoying, but it bugs the hell out of me:

When it’s really cold, your facial muscles move like you’re swimming in molasses.

14

STATIC ELECTRICITY!!!

When I lived in an apartment building, every time I lunlocked my door (during the cold dry months of winter), or hit the elevator button…. ZAP!!!

15

I’m with Cowgirl.

I could bitch about winter–and I will, here in a second–but I do have to send up some props to the ol’ folks for moving to South Texas, so that at least there’s not ten feet of snow and negative temperatures to contend with.

Having said that, I HATE how dark it is, I hate having to wear coats and closed-toe shoes, I hate the way that even if you think you’re dressed warmly you’ll still get cold eventually…and I’m SICK of the way my skin cracks like fragile glass in weather like this. I get out of a hot shower and my skin feels like it’s shriveling.

Oh, and static electricity can kiss my ass, too; getting shocked over and over again, throughout the day, really pisses me off.

16

The worst thing for me is hives. When it’s really cold, and especially if it’s windy or wet (rain/snow) to boot, I get hives on my face, upper legs, and hands. The ones on my legs I can deal with because they aren’t visible, and I can cover hands with gloves or warm them up with a cup of coffee or something, but I can’t protect my face. It’s also not fun explaining to people why my face is a) red and b) has funny bumps on it.

Oh and I lost feeling in my ears today, while waiting for the bus. Bah.

17

Mended bones ache and muscle and sinew are shortened and stiff. Grace is lost for me in winter.

The trees bereft of leaves look deceased rather than hibernating. A forest fire could not make the mountains here look any less barren or lifeless.

My garden: a graveyard. The empty stakes are the tombstones that mark the burial site of my dearly departed tomatoes.

Green is gray, shadows are entirely too long, and the sun traveling at this perverse angle makes me feel as though noon never arrives.

18

I hate everything about winter. I hate the snow that eventually turns to greyish slush. I hate that my car skids all over the damn place when it gets icy. I hate that I should be lucky that my car skids, as that means I was able to start it in the first place. I hate that it’s dark all the time. I hate that I had Seasonal Affectional Disorder, so I get really sad and tired in the winter. I hate that winter lasts for five months in Ohio. I hate not being able to touch anything made of metal without getting shocked. I hate waking up to a cold room, and shivering half-naked into the bedroom. I hate that we humans cannot hibernate through this mess.

In short, is it May yet?

19

Two words : heating bills

20

Buncha whiners!

The worst thing about winter is clearly that it’s too short!!!

:smiley: