Going out in the cold

The summer heat is definitely over and Waterloo is living up to its name with cold winds and rainy days. This is expected though; the fall season marks the literal fall of pleasant sunny temperatures without having to layer up.

During daylight hours, it’s not so bad, assuming that most of you are wearing warm jackets and using umbrellas.

However, the nightlife is a completely different story. It’s the night when we want to break away from our academic wardrobe and bring out our favourite and most-desirable ensembles.

I’m not saying that wearing a bunch of layers means you dress terribly, but for the most part, especially when it’s time to hit the clubs, our “dress-to-impress” requires more skin and less hassle to pack on the layers.

Typically, this is the time of year when all my skirts and dresses get stuffed to the back of my closet and I start wearing only jeans and leggings.

I’m a huge wimp when it comes to being cold and if I have to stand in line with minimal clothing on, I can’t help but think how crazy I must look to anyone else who was wise enough to bring a jacket.

We luck out with having the bars only being five to ten minutes from our places, so the question is always asked, “Should I bring a jacket or not?”

There are two types of people who go out in Waterloo: Those who brave hypothermia and those who pay for coat check.

Both groups are easy to recognize and they both have similar arguments for their choices. It’s all about being practical, whether it’s making sure your body temperature doesn’t drop drastically or whether you’re saving your money for drinks instead of stashing away your coats.

For the former group, they don’t want to deal with the hassle of paying for coat check or hiding their jackets when they know they’re probably going to be extremely warm inside whichever bar or club they’ve chosen to attend that night.

The money that would normally go towards coat check goes towards drinks. They figure they can always run or hop in a cab when it’s time to go home.

The latter group doesn’t mind paying for the coat check; they do mind being cold. Depending on the day or event, wait times to get in can be less than ideal and the last thing they want is to be doing the dance that comes with frozen fingers and toes.

There is nothing worse than waiting in a line for 20 minutes and everyone is chattering their teeth, jamming their hands into pockets and bouncing around as if they have to go to the washroom depending how much they’ve had to drink, they probably do have to go to the washroom.

As a member of the ‘coat check crew’, bring on the coat, the scarf and the gloves. I’ll just drink more at home.

The worst part about this kind of weather is that there’s no happy medium.

During the summer you’re trying to stay as naked as possible, spring is still lukewarm, but you can bear it. As fall slowly moves into winter, it’s hard to convince yourself that it’s not that cold outside.

My advice? Do what works for you but be aware of the consequences when it comes to making your choices when stopping outside.

And stock up on Cold FX. Depending on which group you fall into, you may need to use it a lot.