Heat

I hate the cold. Perhaps it's the Spanish in me, but I just don't have much tolerance for it physically. I am often chilly when others are just fine. (My male acquaintances love this about me, I know.) So I stash sweaters, hoodies and little electric heaters everywhere I can, including under my desk at work. Illegal, but if you stick me under a vent, you get what you get. And on the plus side, it keeps people from asking me to do things for them because it's about 80 degrees at my desk.

My third favorite heater is Dewey, the sole heat source in my apartment in San Antonio. Dewey was not only an old-school gas heater, it was a life affirming old-school gas heater because every time I turned the knob to start the gas flow and lit the flames with a match and didn't blow up, it was another good day. I didn't trust Dewey, but it was always a pleasure coming home from work in the winter at dusk, pulling over that little bear skin rug and curling up with a blanket for a quick snooze in front of the warm ambient flames. I miss those little naps.

My second favorite heater is a hoodie. I just bought two new hoodies, both of which are exceptionally soft and warm. You'd probably be tempted to fall asleep when hugging me they are so comfy. I'm a hoodie junkie. At last count, I own 10 or so. Did I need two new hoodies? Well, I didn't have a navy blue zip-up kangaroo pocket hoodie or a pink velour hoodie with matching yoga pants, so yeah, I did. It's the least I could do for myself after making me live here this winter.

My favorite heater is a warm man. And since I've never met a man who will cop to being cold, they are fortunately not difficult to find. But not all warm men are created equal. I like men like Wyatt, whom I knew during my semester at University of Arkansas and was an old-school Southern gentleman. We'd be out walking somewhere together at night and he'd feel me shiver or I'd casually mention, "It's chilly out here" and he'd put his arm around me and/or give me his jacket. The man was a lizard, he never got cold, but he didn't seem to mind keeping me warm. And a man in a hoodie? Makes the cold worthwhile.

If a woman says she's cold, step up to the plate if you have the means, even if you have no idea how on earth she could possibly be cold. Trust me, you'll make her day. And she'll try to make yours.