Socks...

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Aaaah, New York City in January... when the grey city skyline is accentuated by the grey buildings, and the grey sidewalks and streets are streaked with the frozen grey water and the cars and building are covered in a grey film... and the people are all wearing black coats and dirty Ugg boots and there is no such thing as a good hair day because of the hats, scarves, and earmuffs... and any makeup is washed off by running sniffly noses and watery eyes caused by the winds whipping off the Hudson... not that makeup would matter anyway since scarves are wrapped up above the nose.

The huddled early morning commuters shuffle from subway exits down to the corner Starbucks, stand in line for overpriced coffees and then shuffle off to little offices... only to do the reverse shuffling trip later, not making eye contact, but simply concentrating on getting from point A to point B in minimal time with minimal exposure to the elements or other people.

The store windows are full of "still on sale!!" trying to get rid of the stock that didn't sell over the holidays and making room for clothing that anticipates spring too early, showing off scantily clad mannequins clad in flimsy fabrics that you can't wear for 5 more months unless you want frostbite in some rather sensitive places...

Yesterday, it snowed. And by snow, I mean...it snowed from about 3-6am, and then it sleeted, and then it rained. Which left a lovely mess of slippery, salty, sandy sidewalks all over NYC, with freezing cold puddles of muddy-grey water lapping at every crosswalk... one of which I ended up stepping into up to my ankle, filling my boot with a lovely mix of unidentifiable NYC washoff and making my sock so wet that I was accompanied by a very amusing squeaking-squashing sound with every step for the remainder of the day. I was literally laughing out loud walking down the street, since the alternative, really, was to cry.

(Why walk when there is a perfectly good subway system? Because delays on the subway were turning 20 minute commutes into 2 hour nightmares, so I figured walking was easier, if not more comfortable).

So in conclusion, it's time, ladies and gentlemen, for a vacation.

It's T-minus 23 days and counting to Costa Rica... a week of blue skies, bluer waters, diving, snorkeling, swimming, canopy riding, volcano-seeing, tropical bug-bitten days of bliss... where I can wake up *after* the sun rises for a change, and toss any offending alarm clocks off a bridge. There, a bathing suit, tshirt, flip flops and shorts are plenty to keep you "warm"... saving you a good 15 minutes of layering up with long johns, socks, boots, scarves, hats, gloves, coats, and sweaters before stepping outside...

Wanna come?
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