winter optimism

I’m not going to lie. Working in the winter sucks. You can get trapped in snowstorms, it’s cold, and it’s dark. I do have an advantage over office staff because I’m outside for the minimal time that it is light, so I’m somewhat less likely to have an acute case of SAD, but I often find myself finishing sampling/drilling using headlights and a flashlight so that I can write stuff. Once the sun goes down, 5 or 6 pm feels like 10 or 11 pm.

January is the worst because that’s when it’s usually coldest and you’ve just passed the holiday season. What gets me through is that every day, there’s a little more light. By late February, when everyone is heartily sick of winter, sunset is significantly later and you can look forward to having spring eventually.