<p>I will continue to impress upon D that cold in her vocabulary and cold up north is two different things. I have turned my "home weather" on aol to one of D's safeties and tell her the temps most every day. Hasn't phased her yet. But she will visit dead of winter if possible to get the feel of true cold. Good idea.</p>
<p>Jamimom....you can always come to sunny California :). All of us CCers here would love to take you under our roofs :. I read recently though, that many people who moved to Florida from the northern states have moved back, because they miss family too much even though they liked the warm weather. I think that as much as the cold is that I probably have a tendency to seasonal affective disorder. Northern California is perfect because it really does have these brief autumns and winters so that the weather isn't totally boring, but it is really so lovely so much of the year. </p>
<p>I was listening to Prairie Home Companion yesterday (Embarrass, MN was 54 BELOW zero yesterday) and Garrison Keillor said to the crowd in St. Paul, "Remember, there is no such thing as bad weather; there are only bad clothes." The crowd laughed, a bit wearily it seemed. </p>
<p>Cur...that's funny--This time last year, I was constantly checking the weather on the AOL weather thingy in Claremont, CA, several Massachusetts locations, and North Carolina....it was kind of fun to mentally transplant oneself to all those different locations several times a day....</p>
<p>Since you guys are talking about it (sorry for the diversion, Curmudgeon)....but here at my house today in VT, it never got over 4 BELOW ZERO for a HIGH and the windchills were to 30 BELOW. Of course this was the daytime and the nights are colder. But.....my D is in NH right now for four weeks with the Brown ski team. And I thought, for sure, they could not have skied today. WRONG. I spoke to her. She said it was 15 BELOW on the mountain withOUT the wind chill factor and it was windy to boot. Now, she rarely gets cold on the mountain like most of us and she did not want to take a neck gaitor (fleece neck thing you can pull from your neck up onto your face and fits under her ski helmet) to college or to ski training as she does not like to wear one and never gets cold but told me she had to break down and buy one today (hers are all at home) because if any skin was exposed on the mountain, it was sure to be frostbitten. How she skied in that frigid temp and wind chill, I have no clue and the race this weekend is also calling for such sub zero temps and that is just in a lycra fitted race suit. She said she had a lot of layers on today and I am thinking Michelen man? How did she move? Dunno but all I can say is....you have to LOVE this to do this. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>You know, I want to do that. For a visit anyways. Have a brother in California with a niece that I just don't see enough. I am retiring from my business after this admissions cycle because I don't know enough about the new SAT and know that I would have to take off the year to figure it out. It would take an enormous amount of time to get me up to where I am with the SATs right now, particularly the Writing which has not changed since I took it. I need more time with my little ones as well, and it seems like the older ones are not easing up as they should when they become adults. 2 weddings this June, and a graduation. After that I'll be more free. I've been wanting to just vist my brother; he retired from the army right before this Iraq mess, so we both have some time right now. If I go, I will visit LA as well and head up the coast to the bay area and to visit a dear old childhood friend who lives near Monterey as well. If I do this, I am going to claim a cup of coffee from Thedad, and see who else is there. Once certain things work out here, I'll be so much able to do more. It was a difficult year for a number of reasons last year.</p>
<p>Okay, sac and I (we have met) and whoever else is in the Bay Area are going to start planning a "Jamimom welcome party"--perhaps in some decadent club in SF or Berkeley :). Right, Sac? This is enough advance notice that we can have "CC Parent" sweatshirts printed so that we will know each other at the designated location :D. (I'm serious, btw!) Send me a PM when you start making your plans, and I'll give you my contact info.</p>
<p>Okay, now I will stop hijacking this thread, sorry curmudgeon.</p>
<p>Last night I perused the atlas for countries sitting on the equator. Loving the long summer days here now and dreading, with a capital D, the short days of winter. Days on the equator ar 7 to 7, all year round. </p>
<p>You go JMom! I was sorry to read that you aren't surrounded by hundreds of friends. If you go to California, I think you will be!</p>
<p>Heck, if you guys have a party in the Bay area for Jamimom, I'm flying up from San Diego to attend. I'm sure I could get Coureur to join me on the flight. Wouldn't that be great fun?</p>
<p>Hijacking continues...OR, we northerners'll come to you. It doesn't take much to persuade me to go to San Diego. Old Town has that place that boasts the best margaritas in the world..... Jamimom gets to pick :)....or she can just wend her way up the coast and have LOTS of parties!</p>
<p>I'm with Cheers. Endless summer in the tropics. Although I'm originally a midwesterner I spent 15 years in San Francisco, waiting for the summer that never came. I quote the (possibly apocryphal) comment from Mark Twain: Summer in San Francisco was the coldest winter I ever spent.</p>
<p>If any of your cold-adverse kids decide to visit the arctic zone in the winter, make sure they're dressed for it. This is the key to happiness in the snow (and ice and wind and slush. . .).</p>
<p>I forget. Is Jakarta on the equator?</p>
<p>Momrath--so true about SF, although the weather pattern has been warmer in most of the last few summers except 2004 was back to "normal" fog in the summer. I used to commute from the Peninsula to SF via train, and I could never get it through my thick skull that even though it was sunny and warm in the south bay on summer mornings, it would be FREEZING in the city. Lightweight summer clothes did NOT work when waiting at freezing busstops with the wind and the fog swirling around you!</p>
<p>I do think that cold-weather clothes have really improved since I went to college. I mean, we didn't have polarfleece, or all the great lightweight layering fabrics that exist now and make the weather a bit less of an issue. It was just wool or down....</p>
<p>P.S. cheers, you're cracking me up.</p>
<p>Cheers, Jakarta is a few degrees south of the equator. Hot and steamy 24/7.</p>
<p>Patient, You really take me back to my SF days. I didn't even have a summer wardrobe. It was wool and gloves all year round.</p>
<p>If you do a CA party for jamimom, count me in. I think innstead of the sweatshirts, we could all be carrying our laptops. Or wearing jammies.</p>
<p>momrath, you just needed to move a few miles south. San Francisco really is a world unto itself, climate-wise and other-wise.... SBmom, LOL!! Yeah, the sweatshirt idea was lame, I knew it when I wrote it....</p>
<p>Hi Curmudgeon,</p>
<p>Just got a bunch of info from Kenyon. Kenyon looks really great. Thought you and your D might want to look into it. They give merit aid IF you apply early enough in time (I think prior to 12/15--?) plus she could play ball. Has a really Dartmouthy-Browny feel based on the written materials and the photos.</p>
<p>SBmom</p>
<p>Oooh, just discovered the plans afoot here. sac, patient, jamimom, et al. -- I was offering (on the cafe board) to host a summer house party near San Jose, CC'ers invited. Anyone want to help work on details? (Spacious house, big deck, pool, private yard on cul de sac, new kitchen... and I love hosting parties.) And no worries about the weather in San Jose: it's just far enough into its own microclimate that there's none of the SF foggy chilly days to worry about. Y'all come! jamimom, what's a good summer time for you? We've got some folks saying they might fly in from other places for an event, let's make it one big party?</p>
<p>Mootmom--if you're having a CC party this summer, count me in.</p>
<p>mstee and others -- jmmom has started a "Hijack... California Dreamin' " thread in the Parents Cafe, let's move further get-together discussion there. :)</p>
<p>Cur, your list looks good. But I would classify Lake Forest as a safety for your daughter, assuming her test scores end up where you expect. In fact, I consider LFC a safety for MY daughter and I expect her test scores to be way below your daughter's. I'd even be tempted to classify Knox as a safety for your daughter. I think you need some more matches on that list!</p>
<p>SBMom - I agree that Kenyon is a school Curmudgeon's daughter may want to investigate. But I am curious, why are they sending out stuff know when their application deadlinei has passed?</p>