Getting around.

The temperature has dipped.  It’s dipped far, far below zero.  It’s been hovering around -25 and -30 right now and that’s not including windchill. No, that drags it further down to somewhere around -40 degrees celsius. 

I put my fall parka away and I’ve officially brought out the big guns. I cut the sales tags off of my brand spanking new Canada Goose parka.  It’s a red bundle of feathers that cost a small fortune, but it was worth every penny.  It has a snout hood, trimmed in coyote fur -- I couldn’t be happier.

I’m trying to walk as much as I can, it is a very walkable city.  However a good majority of people drive.  They’ll drive the 3 blocks to the liquor store even when it means starting their giant trucks up to idle for 15 minutes before.  I think I could easily become one of these people if it wasn’t for my little hatchback car constantly protesting.  Since it was strapped down onboard the moving truck there’s been a horrible clunking rattle that happens when I drive it.  It’s awful.  It makes me want to cry.  And the colder it gets, the worse the noise gets.  I’ve had it into the shop twice and the mechanics say there’s nothing they can do about it -- it’s a mystery. 

Well for those of you who know me well, that’s not good enough.  I’ve recorded the noise and sent the soundbyte to two Nissan dealerships and will be getting in touch with the hosts of NPR’s Car Talk.  A friend introduced me to the program a little while ago and if you haven’t listened in, you should.  These two men are geniuses. They get callers, in a comical way, describe their car troubles and then they’ll diagnose the problem over the phone.  Here’s hoping they’ll have an answer for me.  Who knows, until I try. 

But for those above -10 days when the car doesn’t loudly act up I generally take a road trip to Walmart or Canadian Tire, which sit inconveniently at the edge of town.  And with the town speed limit being 45km/hr and everyone driving below that -- it takes awhile to get there. No one is ever in a hurry here and I’m beginning to really appreciate the mentality.

Now, Yellowknife is a very well serviced place and it is connected by a highway (unlike most places in the NWT), but I’m still left feeling very isolated.  The snow and cold have really closed in on me.

But this weekend I battled the blues that seem to be hanging around a little more often than I’d like and I didn’t have to get out of town to do it.  I hosted my first girl’s games night at my new pad.  I guess it was kind of a housewarming party too.  It was a blast.  That’s one thing this place is great for -- making friends.  My coat tree was covered in a multitude of colourful Canada Goose parkas: red, green, pink, purple, white and black.  No blue, it wasn’t welcome.