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It’s official: it’s winter. Like, for real, for the first time in years. We had a snowstorm (well, what passes for one in these parts), public transport broke down completely for two days and I had to go out three times in one day to shovel snow. It was like thirty centimetres total, maybe forty, but the snowdrifts were a lot. Also, thirty centimetres is quite a bit when two are enough to bring everything to a standstill. Of course, our heating broke that Sunday, at -15°C. (Thank God for speedy emergency repair services, even if they're pricey.)

For tomorrow, it’s supposed to be ten centimetres, and my boss was nice enough to tell me to work from home. Not that the chances of me making it to work are high: I had to stay home two days last week because the trains were so late I would have missed my meetings.

Also, another tanka, this time even with a serviceable translation.

Ein Chor aus Kratzen		A choir of scratches
erklingt am kalten Morgen		echoes one cold morning, in
bei stetem Rieseln.		a steady flurry.
Schlappe Gestalten schaufeln		Tired figures shovel snow,
endlos Schnee, Sisyphus gleich.		ceaselessly, like Sisyphus.