I’m having one of those days. One of those days my mind meanders along any given tangent just to create a work-avoiding digression. I was considering doing a comparative study between Starsky & Hutch and The Dukes of Hazard, focusing on their reflections on the differing ideologies of Northern and Southern states. Then I pondered a comparative study on the comparative studies of the former and Robert Frost vs. Shel Silverstein. I simply don’t have the references at my disposal. Plus I’m embarrassed. I’ve read "North of Boston,” and "A Boy’s Will,” and I’d take Silverstein any day of the week; except today; I’m just too lazy today.

Anyway, I’ve decided to focus my efforts on creating another continuing series for this website. This continuing series will likely not continue for long so you’d better eat it up while you can.

I live in California. You don’t. That’s the reason I’m writing this. Say what you want, but I happen to like California. I could stay here for a long time. My girlfriend wants to move in the near future, but I resist via subversive measures. (Note: Any blatant request submitted to a woman, no matter how practical and/or valid, will be violently squashed. I learned this after years of experience. Now I’m left dropping hints like a virgin on a prom date.) 

And I give you…

NOTES FROM CALI:

From May to October it doesn’t rain here in Oakland. Let me repeat that for any Ohioans who think it must be a typo. FROM MAY TO OCTOBER IT DOESN’T RAIN HERE IN OAKLAND. Today it is sunny and perfect. Tomorrow, next week, and next month will be the same. Meteorology is not an important field out here. The weather channel is a joke. The farmer’s almanac has one sentence for the 10 year spring and summer forecast: Pretty darn nice.

The funny thing is that the other segment of the year, November to April, is referred to as the "Rainy Season.” I assume this is just for the sake of parity. During the "Rainy Season” it rains maybe 10 – 15 times. One of these times happened to fall on my weekend escape to Napa. My girlfriend and I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast for $199 a night. (She thought it was a deal.) The beauty of wine country isn’t quite as obvious during a torrential downpour, but hey, there’s lots of wine, so we were merry.

The other days it rained were not the slightest bit inconvenient. The phones at my job kept going out when it rained, so it was actually a welcomed delight. Also, my girlfriend is a hydrologist so there was a good chance that when it rained she would have to stay at work longer, leaving me loads of time to play video games. I really don’t know what my girlfriend the hydrologist and her hydrologist workmates do, but I like to imagine that they spend the bulk of the dry season installing Slip ‘n’ Slides, and then in the "rainy season” joyfully slide down every hill in Northern California. That would be a fun job.