Why Can't I Feel My Toes?

My first serious winter campout as a Boy Scout (I believe it was January 2000) featured snow, wind, and a young scout (yours truly) who didn’t realize that only one pair of loose, thick socks will not keep one’s toes warm in temperatures so cold that your snot freezes before it has a chance to completely drip out of your nose. Combine this lack of basic survival knowledge with a pre-campout briefing during which the dangers of frostbite were emphasized, and you get a panic-stricken sixth-grader who runs to the scout leaders sobbing when his toes go numb after about an hour. Fortunately, after sitting next to the fire getting my toes vigorously rubbed by one of the leaders for about ten minutes, I promptly went to my tent and put on a pair of tight, wick-away socks under my thick ones, and my feet were fine from then on.

This story crossed my mind yesterday morning when my toes went numb as I was sitting in a boat in the middle of the Thames and wondering why I signed up to row crew. I quickly pacified myself with the thought that it was a beautiful morning (as you can see from the photo below, taken from right outside my college's boathouse – you can kind of make out the mist on the river) and I was rowing at Oxford, so I really didn’t have anything to complain about.

And I apologize once again to all my loyal readers for not having anything to say sooner. Life here has settled into a rhythm, where I get up at about 8:30, go to the library, work until 5:00 or so (with a liberal dose of procrastination thrown in), and then go off to an evening activity (including crew two nights a week) or do more work. It’s thrilling, to say the least. However, I will keep you all updated as more fun and fascinating stuff happens (and I’ll make more of an effort, I promise).