Ever heard of SAD? It stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Basically it means that seasonal change can bring changes in mood and/or behavior, namely depression in winter. Treatment can include several herbal remedies and even "light therapy," in which you have a big-ass light shine on you for a certain length of time. All this light is supposed to help balance out the lack of sunlight in the short winter days.

Sounds sort of ludicrous, doesn't it? Yet when winter comes along, every winter, I can sense the change. I really do feel more tired, more depressed, and less likely to try to go out and have fun. I even seem to eat more and I have many more headaches than usual. Is this some kind of association thing? Have my childhood winters always been troubled? Or do I really need to sit next to a big light for a few hours every day...? Either way...dammit, winter just sucks.

Earlier this year, I was actually looking forward to this winter. Winter symbolizes school, and I was ready to be get back into academia. After all, if it's bloody cold outside, you will probably stay in and read books. I was looking forward to that, looking forward to learning new things. But - it's only been cold for a week and I can already tell that this is going to be a long, hard winter...