My Name is Emiko and I Hate the Snow

Most classes when we have to briefly introduce ourselves, we state our names, the year and which program we are in, and where we come from. I definitely know the answer to the first two questions, and depending on my mood I say I am from Oregon or Seattle. Yesterday, as I introduced myself, instead of saying that I was from Oregon or Seattle, I decided to say "My name is Emiko, I am a second year HALE doc student, and I hate the snow." Okay, it's not that I hate the snow, I just would prefer to go to  the snow rather than have it come to me. I mean, I grew up skiing. I really like to snow shoe, I like to eat snow cones, and make snow angels, and I really like snow flakes. I also prefer the Winter Olympics over the Summer Olympics. Yet here I am in Michigan, where the snow comes to me every day from January to mid-March.

Interestingly enough, one way I cope with it is to shovel it early in the morning, which I did Monday and Tuesday morning. It's kind of my way of saying "take that!" I also decided to make a little path from the sidewalk to the curb so that when we put the garbage out, it has a little cubby. Last year we had to put the garbage out in our driveway because the snow berms were too high. But, like I learned to get ready for the spring semester by clearing my desk before classes begin, I also learned to shovel snow to accommodate garbage cans and recycle bins.