It's the Weather, Stupid!

The weather in San Diego is nice.

Duh.

No, really, you have to live here to understand how nice the weather is. Let me restate that--you have to live here after living somewhere else to understand how nice the weather is. 

Allow me to try and explain in a way my Northeast friends will understand.

A veteran of 35 Northeast winters, I feel I'm somewhat of a winter expert. No, I've never lived in North Dakota or Minnesota, but I have my own unified theory of winter into spring. It's a bit Buddhist in nature and made up of these noble truths:

1. Winter = suffering. I cannot make this any simpler.

2. Any deviation from this belief is caused by ignorance.

Skiers, snowboarders, ice fishermen--I'm talking to you here.

3. There exists a nirvana, an end to all suffering, and its name is 

Spring. 

Okay, class, those of you who have to deal with snow, ice, real winter-- what are the signs that spring has arrived? Yes, you? Baby birds? Good. Little League baseball games? Yes, also good. Flowers blooming? Cliché, but we'll take it. Anyone else? Not bad, but no one came up iced coffee.

To me, the first iced coffee of the year is THE SIGN that spring has arrived.

Those of you don't live in Southern California, picture the most beautiful spring day you can imagine: vibrant blues sky, sweet breeze in the air, the coolness on your short sleeves. As you're reveling in the day, you're also celebrating the fact that winter at long last is over--you have survived. Remember winter is suffering at now your suffering is over. 

In my experience this day would usually occur in May. Oh, sure spring starts in April, but April can be such a little cock tease. When the calendar turns to April you think you’re getting spring, but instead you get two weeks of cold rain. Where the frick is that lamb the month is supposed to go out on? And sure daylight savings time is nice, but ONLY IF THERE'S DAYLIGHT--I.E SUN! They didn't call it Overcast Savings Time for a reason. As you muddle through January, February, and March, you think the fourth calendar month will be your savior. After the year it snowed on April Fool's Day, I never counted on April again. In fact I coined a new term for this weather pattern-- "Sprinter," which is sadly when winter horribly bleeds into spring.

But today is the unofficial first day of spring.

As I get out of my car in front of Dunkin Donuts I consider the possibility that today's caffeine make be taken through a straw. I stroll inside and queue patiently. Usually, the stupidity of humanity would be surging my blood pressure, but not during springtime. The woman getting 300 donut holes individually wrapped not a problem--today I am a new man. Gravitating towards the register, I make the call.

"Iced Coffee with a little cream and sugar."

And there it is--the first iced coffee of the year. As I enjoy the frosty goodness of the first sip, I can almost hear the Starbucks Survivor cover band: "Roy! Roy! Roy!"

Spring in New Jersey is much like the tulip that blooms within the season, opening its beauty for just a moment in between the suffering that is winter and the oppressive humidity of summer. But that first day of spring, when the tulip's petals are perfectly parabolic and weather makes you feel like better person, much maligned New Jersey is absolutely beautiful place to live.

This is every day in San Diego.