Although I complain that it lacks any sort of mountains nearby, I do love living in Toronto. I've lived here my entire life, and could list a litany of reasons why it rocks: the multiculturalism, the 'big city' feel in a mid-sized metropolis, the people, the fact there is always something to do - and the weather.

Lots of people question me when I mention the last factor. "The weather?" they ask. "Have you been here in January? It's cold. It's dark. And the winter lasts forever."

These folks have a point. It is cold. And it is dark. And it does suck to wake up in the dark and return home from work in the dark. But that's one of the reasons I got into snowboarding: with something to look forward to during the winter months, winter almost becomes too short.

To me, one of the most painful times of the year is the present. In a few weeks, it's going to get pretty cold. A few weeks after that, the weather will turn bitterly cold. And it will get dark early. And cloudy. And probably rainy.

But you know what won't happen? It won't snow.

And so the October/November months, to me, are the worst months of the year. Screw Halloween and Canadian Thanksgiving. It's going to get cold, it's not going to snow, and I won't be able to do anything about it. I'll be able to think about how much fun snowboarding will be, and I'll read about all the other resorts worldwide that start to open every week. I'll even go to the Toronto Ski and Snowboard Show to placate myself. But it won't help. I still won't be snowboarding. It's the 'dead months' - the ones where it's cold, but you can't ride - that are the worst.