Not as bad as I thought it'd be, but...

[ZedOmega]

You remember in the Black Friday thread on the Off-Topic board that I said I might have a story after I was through? I've got one. And it's more facepalm-worthy than infuriating, thank God.

We leave for Best Buy around 2:30 and get there about 3:00. The line's already pretty long, and it's 30-something degrees outside, so a lot of people are bundled up in 2-3 layers of clothing, some of them are wrapped up in blankets, others are drinking coffee and hot chocolate like we were, and a couple of them were in... wait for it... shorts. One girl in particular was wearing track shorts. Y'know, the ones that end about an inch below the ass.

Now, good deals or not, are they really good enough to risk getting sick over?

[MoonCat]

I have never understood that. I hate being cold! But I guess some people don't care.

There was a girl on the bus this morning wearing a very short skirt, and knee socks. HS kid, I think. It was about 28 degrees this AM. Her legs were bright red.

[protege]

Let's see...what did I do the morning of Black Friday? Oh yeah, I slept in. It was cold and rainy, and I wasn't about to fight crowds. Instead, I let them all get sick, and I went to Best Buy around noon. Unfortunately, they didn't have the laptop I wanted, so I bought it online. While I was in there, I was amazed at the number of idiots who came in either without coats, or in shorts! Seriously, it's 30F out, and you're wearing shorts? Don't come to me when you get cold or can't figure out why you're sick again. At least Darwin would be happy

[LadyAndreca]

See, this is the reason I don't mind being put on the outside register in the winter. It's not that I got used to Alabama summers and Minnesota winters. It's that I -dress for the weather-. I start with a good sweater, or the one or two fleece sweatshirts I can get away with wearing at work, put on my lined windbreaker and scarf if it's above freezing (it's ALWAYS windy here), then add coat and gloves as necessary as it drops below freezing or gets damp. And I am ALWAYS wearing jeans if it's below 70 out.

The people who come Christmas tree shopping in shorts amuse me.

Of course, I had a nice little back-and-forth with one of my head cashiers today...she was wearing a coat and running around turning all the overhead heaters (they function kind of like high-powered heat lamps, without the light), and I'm sweating and chugging water and turning off any that point remotely near me. At one point I walked outside into the pre-dawn just-below-freezing weather just so I could cool down. She was horrified.

[Stormraven]

I horrify people regularly. I can walk barefoot in 40 degree weather (and, briefly, on snow) wearing shirt sleeves and light slacks without any difficulties.

If I'm going to be standing around for a while, I'll likely put on a light jacket and my shoes, but that's about it.

[Rapscallion]

Oh, you'd love me. Got out of the house this morning in T-shirt and jeans. Brushed snow off my car, got it going and warming up, and then got onto scraping the windows clear of frost and ice. Pretty solid amounts, I have to admit.

Got some stares from people walking by. When I got in the car I looked at the thermometer. Turns out it was -7.5 celsius. I barely noticed.

Had it been windy or wet, I'd have really noticed, but as it was I wasn't troubled.

Rapscallion

[Kogarashi]

I've got a few friends like that. Both of them big guys (6+ feet tall, heavy set though half of that is pure muscle), and both of them walk around in shirt-sleeves and jeans during the winter. One of them served a mission in Venezuela and somehow managed to survive without melting for two years.

I'm a lot less cold-tolerant than that, but there were times in high school where I could walk around outside for a while in shorts in mid-autumn, when everyone else was bundled up in long pants and jackets. So long as I had long sleeves on, I was fine.

[Tanasi]

My daughter's school uniform is a skirt but she wears tights under it so she stays fairly warm or so she says. That attire doesn't look condusive to staying warm. I've found that as I've gotten older the cold affects me more. Used to I didn't wear a coat at all, I've been wearing my fleece coats for the last couple of days if I'm going to out for very long. Now when I'm going to be out for a long period I wear my insulated overalls, heavy coat, insulated boots and appropriate head wear. Thing is I can't find any gloves that will keep my hands warm unless I use those little heaters. Stupid gloves

[Ben_Who]

Roommate likes it cold. And I don't mean he's one of those freaks who can't feel the cold. 98.6 is just an average, after all; I'd be sweating like a fountain while my co-worker is off to the closet to throw on her coat. I mean, he knows it's cold and likes it cold.

Every autumn we go to war over his window, which he'll leave open as late as Thanksgiving. He'll drop the interior of the apartment down to 45 degrees Fahrenheit and go to sleep under a mountain of blankets, leaving me shivering in the other room. He'll leave the window open, forget that it's open, and go off to work, coming home to an apartment in the high thirties. He burned out an air conditioner one summer, leaving it at wax-museum temperatures 24/7. It's like camping.

I've threatened to nail the window shut on diverse occasions - if the landlord drives past and happens to see all his expensive heat pouring out through an open window, he'll crank up the rent to make up for it. (He's done this twice.) Yet Roommate honestly doesn't see anything wrong with it. When a chicken left on the counter for eight hours hasn't defrosted by the time I get home...

Love, Who?

[Sapphire Silk]

The first time I visited Minot, ND, was just before Christmas. There was a foot or more of snow on the ground (and btw, looking at snow covered houses with their Christmas lights on at night from the air is like looking at a Norman Rockwell painting).

I was wearing a heavy winter coat, hat, gloves, jeans, and boots. It was about 10 degrees F outside.

I go to baggage claim and see a dude in a tee shirt, shorts (baggy at that), and flip flops. I asked him if he was cold. He said no, he was fine.

Later I moved to Minot. Lived there for two years. By the time I left, I had acclimated to the cold. Unless the wind was blowing, I made by with jeans, a sweater, and a light jacket that I'd take off more often that not. (I never did get to the summer clothing in winter stage).

One thing I do recall: when the temperature hit 40 F, everyone would be out washing their cars and BBQing.

[Muses_nightmare]

Turns out it was -7.5 celsius. I barely noticed.

-7.5C? That's spring weather! :P Living here in Vancouver I tend to only have to wear my hoodie or a light sweater, and only because they're comfy. People here think anything under 10C is cold. I'll see parkas and gloves when it's still 5C out! I'm going to send some of these people up North to experience actual winter, with snow and everything.