the Unexpressed Advantage

I know I talk about the weather more than most people do on their blogs, but – as you know by now – I live in Vancouver. And in Vancouver the weather is pretty important. Yesterday was the first "actual" summer day. With the sun up early (6am) and down late (9:30pm). There was no cloud in the sky all day and it was a balmy 30 (86 F) degrees – which some locals think is "hot" but when you're from 40+ (104 F) degree summers in Northern California, 30 is nothing more than gentle warmth, even your friend's "really hot" 3^rd floor condo without air conditioning.

It's a big deal because about 95% of our days are pretty grim. Grim like a tasty restaurant 2-egg omelets and flapjack breakfast, except for make the breakfast completely devoid of any color (monochrome), mash it up into baby-food sized bites, and add a cold wind somehow. I don't know; that allegory broke down I guess. But you get the point. It seems like everyone here kind of half-lives though most of the cruddy days, and then when the sun comes out we double or triple live. And we put up with it. We put up with this illogical unbalanced sort of wellness because even though most of the days are pretty somber, on the few gorgeous days Vancouver somehow turns into a Disney Movie – the city is all of a sudden in hand-drawn animated Technicolor, animals dance, birds sing, babies laugh (and dance apparently), all the boys are tall and charming, and all the girls have big eyes and magical hair. I'm serious. They could film the little mermaid 4 here on a sunny day and nobody would know the difference.

So, like most people, I subconsciously made a stream of plans for my first truly sunny Saturday, and it was quite awesome I must say. I was basically on my bike and in the sun the whole day. No more complaining from me.

I have to go to church now, but if you stick around I'll even tell you about it, including stories about the funny hot-dog lady, how I attempted to beat up an old lady by accident, and even if we're lucky I'll get to post a video of ben dancing to the beat of my "beat-boxing" and James' "rapping".

Enjoy your summers…

Peace.