OH (COLD) SNAP!

Forgive this late, short, disjointed post. The LLDD-Hyphen-L and I recently succumbed to the London winter and came down with colds/fevers that knocked us off our feet for days.

"You wusses!", my colleagues in continental Europe and northeast U.S. no doubt will yell. "London doesn't even have the blizzards or six-foot deep heavy snowfalls that we do! You just get a light dusting of dandruff, and you immediately come down sick. Wusses."

Perhaps, but in our defense, this particular UK cold-snap was reportedly the worst in nearly 30 years, so it was not totally inconceivable that a pair of lifelong indoor mall-loving tropical islanders would feel a bit under the weather.

Also, never underestimate the desire of a couple of hicks to pose and play in the "i-snow" despite light clothing and freezing temperatures

It wasn't like the weathermen were shooting 100% either. Over one weekend, for instance, they issued severe weather warnings for heavy snow that never came. That same week, and right after they lifted the warnings and sounded the all-clear, I woke up, dressed accordingly, stepped outside my flat to go to work, and found...

A picturesque neighborhood provides little comfort when you're not wearing your long underwear

And then there were the transportation issues that came with the icy conditions. Seems what's worth its weight in gold during times like these is something called "grit" -- a kind of salt and sand mixture that's spread over streets and sidewalks to prevent icing and slipping. It was in desperate short supply -- although there was no shortage of terrific local grit-based puns, such as "Grit Britain" to describe the country's hardy efforts to get back to work during snowstorms.

or "Oh, grit" to describe me missing my train to work

Anyway, all my outdoor frolicking conspired to make me and the LLDD-Hyphen-L successively sick. And by successively, I mean ako unang nagkasakit, tapos hinawaan ko sya

.

She was not amused

Trooper that she is, though, the LLDD-Hyphen-L was able to ride out her illness with a minimum of narcotics. I, on the other, wussily downed Nyquil like tequila shots. What can I say? I have a low pain threshold, and the lightheadedness made for some interesting tripping.

I could have sworn, for instance, that this Simbang Gabi misallette we had lying around the house read "mano po ninong, mano po ninang, narito kami ngayong hemophilic sa yong kamay"

Indeed, the only things that got me through it all were the over-the-counter drugs, as well as the memories of our warm and beautiful homeland -- most recently depicted in the UK in the January 2010 edition of "Selling Long Haul" magazine.

Malls, jeeps, seafood, warm weather . . . foreshadowing alert! Abangan!