The Weather Outside is Frightful

Born and raised in South Texas, I'm very much a wimp when it comes to being cold. I'm also always cold. I wear jackets anywhere I go, because Texan's love their AC. But winter is upon us, and while that usually means the weather doesn't get bad until early in the new year, it does mean that January and February are absolutely miserable. At the moment, there is a "freeze advisory" in effect until (I've heard) Sunday, and while those Northern freaks are probably laughing at the way I'm reacting while they walk through the snow to work, uphill both ways, in temperatures that make Antarctica feel like Hawaii, I just have to say this makes me NOT HAPPY. For one thing, I don't actually own warm clothes. Maybe a long sleeved shirt here and there, but they are all about as thin as tissue paper, as are most of my jackets. Right now, I'm wearing a great brown cardigan that makes me feel like a hip and sexy librarian, and I am sitting in my office, freezing my tail off. Why can't they at least shut off the air conditioning when the weather turns frigid outside? Why must it stay at a constant, shiver-inducing temperature?

On another note, I finished a new book entitled Death's Daughter, by Amber Benson. For total dorks like me, Amber Benson is most well-known for her role as Tara, Willow's girlfriend in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have to say that I was not overly impressed with the book. The main character, Calliope, is whiny and selfish and generally annoying, and remains mostly one-dimensional throughout the book. Another of my pet peeves was the portrayal of the Indian goddess, Kali, who was not believable as an actual goddess - instead she seemed more like a New York, latte-sipping, trash talking socialite. There were several men that snubbed her in her past, if I read the hints right (and I did, because there was no way you could miss the unsubtle there), and knowing what little I do of the goddess Kali, they would probably have been disemboweled and their heads hung about her neck as trophies for such betrayal. Instead, she just huffed a lot and made snide comments like a crazy, jealous ex. Although her idea of Death and Hell were most interesting, her writing style was not to my liking. Overall, I give it a meh.