Talking About the Weather and Ohio

Talking about the weather is usually considered a dull, polite topic, but I actually seek out talk about weather. If I've recently visited the library, you can be sure I've checked out a book about weather. I search for and study weather maps. Could this considered a hobby? Anyway, I heard about the snowstorm coming our way when I visited a restaurant I hadn't yet been to in town for coffee on Saturday morning. Cups of coffee are a cheap way to visit establishments and get a feel for the place. Saturdays are my "go into town" day. Do I sounds like a local yet? I visit the laundromat (and take my wet clothes home to dry on a line because I save a dollar by not using the dryer), do my grocery shopping while the wash cycle is going (efficiency!), then either visit the library if it's cold and rainy or try a new hike that's in the area. Driving into town it's hard to keep my eyes on the road sometimes because it's just so gorgeous to look out into the bay.

So, at this restaurant, I sat up at the bar, a varnished wood top with an artsy stone strip in the center, nursing a cup of coffee in a purple mug (I only say "nursing" because isn't that what one does to their drink when they sit at the bar?) and chatting with the bar tender, who happened to be a statistician interested in ecology. We had a lot we could discuss, including climate, my favorite topic. Anyway, this girl was filling out an application and we were talking about the weather, and she pipes in that snow is expected for Wednesday. And well, what else is new? But it got a little more exciting when the storm was upgraded to a blizzard warning! Blizzard Warning for Wednesday, March 26, 2014. And now it is Wednesday and the wind is blasting out of the north, though there certainly isn't as much snow accumulation as the 20 inches that were predicted. So it's not a "real" blizzard, not like the legendary Blizzard of '78 that I've heard so much about. Regardless, it add an element of excitement to the day and man, is it windy!

Last week my excitement was going to Walmart...I generally refuse to shop at Walmart, but there I was on a Thursday night, super excited to get off the island and marveling over the choices of votive candles. Despite winter being a quiet (VERY QUIET) time on the island, I appreciate the time to get to know the area before visitors inundate the coast. There's already signs of the busyness to come: I've begun to notice more out of state license plates as shop owners come to reopen their stores after being closed for the winter, scaffolding and ladders decorate many buildings as repairs are made, and I see more people outside as the weather warms (well, on select days). Of course, my Ohio plates and bright yellow car stick out like whoa, but I find the "I'm from Ohio" line a convenient one that expresses everything from, "I am ignorant about this subject, please explain" to "You're a complete stranger so I'm going to open with this tidbit about myself to let you know if you talk about Machias or Calais or Lake Mooselookmeguntic I'm only going to nod and pretend to know how to spell (much less pronounce) what you're talking about" to "I'm so sorry I did ______, but, well, I'm not from here and didn't know better". Oddly, I find myself proud of the fact that I'm from Ohio (Toledo Pride, Carty, Toledo Pride), though I am sarcastic about it and poke fun of it in the way you make fun of a sibling (and get offended when other people do it). Only I can say "Ohio is nothing but corn and soybeans, so you're not missing much haha!" because I have lived among the corn and soybeans. Relatively speaking. But I'd better not hear any non-native say, "Ohio is boring" because please, you haven't even been to Ohio.