Cold

So, Wednesday morning, when the alarm went off at 4:15 AM, I awoke with the memory that I had turned the heating system off in my relo before the holidays (when the temperature was in the 50s F.).  Oh my.
I rushed to leave the house by 6:15 (earlier than usual) and fought surprisingly bad traffic all the way to school.  (I had no idea the traffic would be so bad at that time of morning, but it was worse than at the time I usually leave for school.)
On the way, I had the radio on, and the DJ (John Carter, one of my longtime favorite DJs in the area) said, "Welcome to the Wednesday that feels like Monday!"  He was right.
I arrived at my relo at 6:35 AM.  It was 24 degrees F. in the room.  More than an hour later, when school began, I still had to make my 1st period kids get their coats to wear to class.
Believe me; I did not turn the programed heat off that night.
Yesterday, when I arrived at school (at 7:00 AM), my room was a nice 65 degrees (PLENTY warm once you get it filled with 35 sweating adolescents), the thermometer in my car read 4 degrees F.
Yeah, 4.  Gotta love a temperature inversion.

I recall that when I was living in Scotland, there was one day in January where the temperature dipped down to 0 degrees centigrade/ 32 F.  I cannot tell you how many people bothered to tell me that day that it was "literally freezing!"  Yes, it was.  And I laughed every time they told me.
Finally, one lady was aghast that I wasn't stunned by the freezing temperature.  I explained it to her this way:  "When the temperature gets UP to freezing in Salt Lake in January, we tend to think of it as 'getting warm.'"
And, of course, I know this is nothing compared to places like Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Still, I don't mind the cold.  I can always layer on more clothes to keep warm -- unlike the extreme Utah summer heat where one cannot peel off layers of skin to cool down.  And cold keeps people quieter.  It's peaceful, which I really appreciate.