Sunny Days Ahead

California weather equates to hot, wet, windy and cold. For example, when the rest of the country is experiencing fall, we are all hot and windy. When it's a winter wonderland up in the north and east, we are cold and wet. That's about the gist of it and it's been that way for as long as I can remember.

You have to understand that to a California naive such as myself, anytime the temperature falls below 70, we are cold. You will still be able to find diehards wearing shorts and flip flops, but even they are complaining about the cold and the wet and how it screws up their planned outdoor activities. I mean, the beach becomes a pretty useless place on a rainy day. And don't get me started about how everyone simultaneously forgets how to drive when it rains. That is a joke in and of itself, but I digress. I think winter is just about over here in California. The worst of it ran for about two weeks when it was rainy and cold. Today is December 30th, a Tuesday, and its 72 degrees in the valley where I work. It might rain a couple more times before January '09 is gone, but without the cold like before, I can handle it.

Also, I noticed that December 21 unceremoniously passed me by this year. It's a good day to me because it marks the winter equinox; the day of the year with the shortest amount of sunlight. Every day after that until June 21st, we are on the upswing in the amount of daytime sunlight we get right on through spring. That makes me happy. That gives me something to look forward to.