We’re on day 5—maybe—I’ve lost track—of snow in Dallas. On day 2, I tried to make a snowman, but it was super windy and, well, it was freezing.

On day 3, I tried again. I got my fingerless mittens on and knew that wasn’t enough, so I grabbed two quart-sized bags, put them on my hands, and secured them with hair ties. I grabbed a cup and left on my mission. Well, there was one problem: it was all ice. I tried digging with my cup to no success, so I decided I’d carve something instead. I knew I wanted to do something for my friends, so I etched in the name of our group chat. My attempts were thorough, but results were minimal. I then wrote ‘snow way’—to the same result.

It’s day 5 and I’m back at it. I successfully(ish) made a snow penguin and wrote ‘snow way,’ but I wanted to write something else. But what? The first word that came to mind was ‘quotient,’ and I spelled it wrong. Where did this come from? What has come over me?

*I never have the right winterware, and I figure/manifest/hope I won’t need cold accessories.