Surviving Winter (with a little help from my friends?)

Well,  I think the mid-winter gloom has officially got me in its nasty little claws.  The days are short and cold (warmer in Poland than in Wisconsin, but also shorter).  Everyone’s getting sick, and stressed.  And I’ve been in a bit of a mood.  But this year I really don’t feel like moping around until it goes away.  I’ve decided that the best way to make it through February in one piece is to engage in some productive activities (when I’m not working) to keep me from going crazy until daylight and optimism return.  I even have some ideas.  But I need help.  And I don’t think I’m the only one this happens to, so I thought I’d collect some ideas here for surviving until Spring comes along.  This is meant to be an interactive blog entry, so please…interact.

Here are some things that I’ve been thinking about:

Reading good books.  This is a nice one.  Part escape, part intellectual activity.  Right now I’m reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery and Ireland in the 20^th Century by Tim Pat Coogan.   But it won’t take me long to finish the first, and the second is a slow read that goes on for a long time while you read some other things, too.  So, please send me some suggestions (and if you really love me, books.  English language books are a bit expensive and not available in wide varieties here.)

Exercise.  It’s been pretty warm here.  The up side of this is that there isn’t a lot of snow and ice to prevent me from going running whenever and wherever I want.  The down side is that I was finally going to try snowboarding this year.  And I’d like to go ice skating more often.  When it’s too warm, these things are pretty tough to do.  And now that my dear Aija is gone, so is my unconventional workout buddy.  And you can only run so often.  OK, I can only run so often.  I love it, but as a daily thing, it can get boring after a while.  And hard on the knees.  Anyway, I do a pretty good job of keeping active, but I’ve been thinking that maybe I should take up a new sport.  What have you tried that is fun? 

Create something.  This has been a real sticking point for me.  When I want to turn to a creative activity, I most often choose writing.  In this blog, in my journal, stories, letters, etc.  But when I’m feeling depressed and whiny, I hate everything I write.  Even emails.  Just ask Evie.  She knows what I’m saying.  (Even as I write this, it’s still a 50/50 toss up of whether I will ever press the “Post to Blog” button.)  So what else can I do?  I’m not great with visual art, but I like funny crafts.  I thought this hilarious book I got for Christmas (look left) would help, but the stuff in here (while delightful to read about) is too ridiculous even for me to pretend to take seriously and try making.  I know I have some pretty artistic friends out there.  Help me out.  Where can I look for ideas?

Learn something new.  Hmm…like the language of the country I live in?  Polish is an appallingly difficult language to learn, but I’ve recently noticed that while my speech is at the level of an 8-month-old child, my comprehension has been improving rapidly.  So I’ve got renewed motivation to really learn it.  And now I’m going to have a teacher, too, thanks to my friend and co-worker, Gabriela Sajko (thanks!).  So I think I’ve got this one covered.  One point for me.

So, any suggestions?  About the above?  Or about any other solutions you’ve found for killing February by ignoring it to death?  Comment!  Or send me an email, if you’d prefer.