This cold really sucks...

the air right out of your lungs if you're not careful. A wise old man, or perhaps he was middle-aged, I simply don't recall...anyway, this man of wisdom once told me the only good thing about weather like this (around -20) is that it makes you appreciate 20 degrees above zero more than ever.

It's so freaking cold out that even my usually well-insulated body, which has become less insulated in the past few months through semi-regular exercise, has transitioned from regular shiver spells and gone into full-blown convulsions at times.

As I sit here pondering why on God's green Earth are we living on God's white earth with the frozen underbelly, I get a chuckle out of those who validate our presence here in the Sun Shun State that it's a "quality of life" issue. As I've gotten older, and hopefully wiser, I fail to see how quality can be accomplished with outdoor temperatures hovering around 100 degrees cooler than what your body's interior temperature is.

While I'm proud of my Minnesota heritage, it's times like this that don't make me want to brag about being God's country. Instead, they make me want to print up T-shirts proclaiming Minnesota as "God's Meat Locker" so I can make a little money on the side while suffering on the inside.

What's a bit depressing is my body's inner core is unintentionally slowly adapting to these temps, although I'm not happy about it, and I'm still shying away from going Full Monty even indoors anytime soon. Shower time, despite the balmy 67 to 69 degree conditions inside the house (gotta save money ya' know), can be a chore as the minute the water shuts off, I put my towel into overdrive clearing any chance of icicles developing. Maybe one of those ShamWow's might be a good investment at this time, provided they actually work like that guy says they do.

Nonetheless, we as Minnesotans will plow ahead like we always do, knowing that it could be much worse. The mosquitoes could be out, too.