(On the eights.)
One of the biggest challenges of moving here was the act of crossing the street. The driving on the left side of the road thing really threw me. (I can hear a few of my uncles scoffing—“uhh, it’s just the opposite of what it is here”). FALSE. It is not simply the opposite—it is against every traffic instinct of my being. When I first got here, I was a big American tornado of confusion whenever I had to cross a street—look right, look left, look right, check behind me, look right again, attempt eye contact with the driver paused at the corner, be confused when that car still revs up even though I just made eye contact, let that car go, check all lanes of all roads of the intersection, pray, then sprint. It was just really difficult to be sure of where cars were going to come from. Going running was also pretty tough, because obviously I wouldn't want to stop and go through that routine at every single corner. But, it would all improve. The day I realized I had always been making eye contact with the person in the passenger seat was the day that marked a significant increase in my chances of surviving a street crossing (because it turns out that not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road, but they also sit on the wrong side of the car). (I knew this in theory, but apparently not in practice.) I’m proud to say, after more than two months, I can now confidently cross the street with minimal frenzy. Roundabouts still get me (are they really necessary at the intersection of two streets?), but sometimes I can avoid them by jaywalking.
The temperature here now is consistently in the 50s during the day and into the 40s at night. (Still don’t easily do the whole Celsius thing—apparently it’s 5 degrees right now.) Living in Houston for the past four years has turned me into a big wimp. I am pretty cold here. And (as Ashley and I were recently discussing), this weather has trained us to expect Christmas fairly immediately, as Houston only gets this cold in late November at the earliest. But, Christmas is still 65 days away. I really do like this temperature though, and it has been nice to have a Real Fall. Last weekend, Ashley and I went to Hyde Park, and the leaves on the ground smelled really good.
And now, the Osgood File, with Charles Osgood.
