It's cold here in Texas...well, cold for Texas...

I've lived in St. Louis, Washington DC, Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota...so I know what cold is. Cold is when you breathe through your nose and crystals form on your nose hairs. Cold is when you walk on compacted snow and ice and it creaks underneath your footsteps (you never forget that sound...or feeling...it still gives me chills when I think about it). Cold is when your toes are so cold you don't think you can stand it anymore and it's hard to walk. Cold is when your hands get so cold, it's excrutiatingly painful when they begin to thaw out.

So, it's been cold in south Texas this past week. I moved here in the summer of 2004 and this has been the coldest it's ever been since then. Temperatures have been in the teens. These Texans are not used to this cold. And since I've been here for six years, neither am I. I don't even have a winter coat anymore to protect me from the cold. That's okay, because next week it'll be back in the 50's. No big deal.

But I did worry about this guy...


Mr. Asshole did put a heat light out for him, so I guess that's something. The only reason he looks perky out here is because I went out on the back patio to take his picture and he got excited. Then he came bounding across the yard to me and I felt guilty about him getting out from under the light. When I'm not outside, he just huddles there on his bed. Why in God's name couldn't Mr. Asshole just bring the damn dog in for a couple of nights?? I just don't get it. I know...I'm on my soapbox again, but why do people have pets when they want absolutely nothing to do with them? All my friends at work are ready to steal Gringo. We're going to put on black clothing and masks and whisk him away some night. The shame is...it would probably take Mr. Asshole at least a week to figure out he was gone. Some people just suck.