Eureka!

I must admit, on bitter ten-degree mornings like this morning, or walking across a deserted school parking lot last night, I think:

why did I ever leave California?

I miss my palm tree in the front yard, and the total absence of ice scrapers in my car. I miss the concern of winter being "bring a coat when you go up to San Francisco" (oh, wait...you need to bring a coat everytime you go to San Francisco).

So I'm walking across the windy parking lot last night and shivering in my cold car this morning (god bless heated seats) thinking about the cost of my house, how my mortgage payment is half what my rent was in San Jose, how Ohio didn't charge me $600 to bring my cars with me when I got here (which I eventually got back, but still, I was a fresh grad--I didn't have $600). These are all good things. But I'm sure that today in San Jose the weather report will read something like "cool and foggy, with the fog lifting about 10am leading to clearing sunshine, high in the mid-60s this afternoon. If you want snow drive to Tahoe."

And in thirty minutes I could be in Santa Cruz.

My time in California ruined winter for me.