I moved into my new place in Morgantown on Wednesday when electricity was finally turned on, but unbeknownst to me, my hot water heater uses gas. The gas company needs access to the basement, which means the landlord needs to be here. And he is harder to get on the phone than I used to be, which I didn’t think was possible.

Anyway, I have no hot water. But I took cold showers all the time in Texas this summer. The temperature was in the 90’s or 100’s most days, and a cold shower felt great. So I jumped right into a cold shower here in West Virginia. A cold shower in Texas is not the same as a cold shower in the mountains of West Virginia. The temperature had to be at least 20 degrees colder than what I was used to.

I’ve always thought that cold doesn’t bother me. I’ve gone downhill skiing in Vermont wearing a t-shirt. The only time I’ve been cold enough to complain and want to get indoors immediately was at my Uncle’s funeral in New Hampshire in early January (when the wind chill was at -20°F).

But that shower was cold! I’ve never seen myself turn blue before.