How I know I'm Not in Job City Anymore

(Yes, it's another post about the weather. I promise that it will be the last such post for a while. It's just that it's such a novelty for me right now.)

I grew up in a place that has only a little bit of what could be classified as weather. But after over two idyllic decades, I took off for eight years in Grad School Town, whose weather I once heard described as "nine months of winter, and three months of hell." I fell into several climate-related habits: I kept one eye glued to the radar map on weather reports during storm season; I checked both temperature and humidity or wind chill before deciding what to wear and what clothes to pack with me (Snow? Leather shoes go in the bag. Thunderstorms? Put the suit jacket in the bag, and wear the Goretex. Heat index of 110? Wear the tank top, but pack a cardigan for the destination, which will be heavily air-conditioned.); and I always, always unplugged the computer before leaving the apartment for more than 15 minutes, for fear of storm-induced power surges wiping out every bit of work I'd done for the past year.

But I hadn't realized how four years in Job City -- a place that has even less in the way of weather than Home City -- had lulled me into complacency. But now, I'm back in a place that has Weather. Capitalized. And today, for the first time in years, I found myself bookmarking the website for regional NEXRAD radar, and unplugging my computer when I left the apartment. Just in case, you know.