It’s Getting Lighter
In England, it can be extraordinarily dark in the winter, and I think it’s finally getting to me a little bit.
Today the sun rose at 7:51 am and set at 4:34 pm. As a point of comparison, in New York today, the sun rose at 7:13 am and set at 5:02 pm. You guys have an entire hour and 6 minutes on us. Geesh. At least it was light out while I walked from the tube to work, but I’m about done with this. I am trying to be pleasant, but really I feel pretty grumpy, and to make matters worse, so does EVVVVVeryone else. Miserable so-and-sos - all of ‘em. The GOOD news, however, is two-fold.
1. It will be daylight savings time before I know it. March 26th is a mere two months away, and between now and then Todd is coming to visit and we’re going to Greece! Not bad, really.
2. Because it gets so dark in the winter and so light in the summer, the change seems to happen faster, so when we came back from the States on the 5th of January, the sun rose at 8:05 am and set at 4:07 pm. That means that we have already gained 14 minutes in the morning and 27 minutes in the eve- ok, maybe in the afternoon. But still - that is a noticeable change! Once it gets past the time I leave work, I think I’ll really start to notice.
Anyway, how do I know that it’s getting to me? Well, I yelled at a lady I don’t know. BUT she was being horrible. I was trying to wheel Melinda’s suitcase through the little tube doors, and I bumped into this lady, because she was trying to get past me (presumably thinking that I would be slow thanks to the suitcase). So I very sincerely said, “Oh I’m sorry!,” and then she huffed and puffed and took the Lord’s name in vain, which -admittedly - isn’t as great an offence here as it is in America, but still - I said I was sorry. So I really yelled at her, “I SAID I was SORRY!” She walked off saying, “Take it easy” and looking embarrassed.
For a second, I felt a little bad. The poor lady was probably having a bad day, and I’m sure if I were having a miserable day I might huff and puff if someone got in my way. But then, I decided that no - she was being nasty, and if I were - on my miserable day - being nasty to someone, I would absolutely deserve to get yelled at. So now I’m OK with it, but goodness it surprised me when it came out of my mouth!
The point of this whole story is that the sun needs to come back out, and also, everyone else needs to stop being grumpy so that I don’t have to be grumpy back. No worries - only 2 measly little months to go.
You’re being ridiculous. Even though there were open turnstyles to each side of you, this ugly, nasty woman decided to push right by you (and your noticeably large, red suitcase) to go through YOUR tube turnstyle-thing. She cut you off but you still sincerely apologized for her bumping into you (even though none of this was your fault). She threw a hissy fit anyway and so you were right to call her out. Good for you. I hope she felt like an idiot.
Comment by Melinda the Future Brit — January 24, 2006 @ 2:45 am
Ha! You should have seen what she did to the lady who asked us for money when we were on the Open Mic tour.
Comment by Patrick — January 24, 2006 @ 12:02 pm
Three things….Tiffany, we couldn’t have been more proud of you at that very moment when you yelled at the woman. I watched the whole thing go down, and you might have over-reacted a bit about it, but she was a B and needed to know it. Next time though, make sure you are wearing your Canadian flag sweatshirt when you decide to yell like that(I still think that one was funny, so I thought I’d use it again). Second thing, I know what you mean about the sunlight, I think the same thing everyday around 4:30 when I look out the window. That was actually one of the hardest things for me when I moved to New York, having less sunlight. Third thing, but this one is for Patrick— did you not read our second blog? We clearly gave you and Whitey a shoutout and you didn’t even have the decency to thank us!!
Comment by Brooke, also a future Brit — January 24, 2006 @ 8:53 pm
Mea culpa. Many apologies. My bad.
I did read your second installment, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
After the first installment, though, I felt I couldn’t comment on it without grading it, and I just didn’t have time to do your effort justice.
Again, so sorry. Please forgive me.
Comment by Patrick — January 25, 2006 @ 1:58 am
Patrick, your apologies are accepted!
Tiffany, one more thing- I was reading the Post yesterday on my way home from work and I came across something interesting…According to BRITISH psychologist Dr. Cliff Arnall, January 24th (yesterday) is “the most depressing day of the year due to an array of emotional and stress factors including LACK OF LIGHT, bad weather, and increased debt….”. This further justifies your need for sunlight.
Comment by Brooke, also a future Brit — January 25, 2006 @ 4:35 pm