winter in southern california
I'm not really qualified to comment on the weather today, since I only went outside for about an hour, between five and six o'clock. But that hour, together with my detailed examinations of how it looked out the window, convinced me that this was the winteriest day I've yet exprienced here. Not that it was cold--when I can bike downtown in short sleeves with no discomfort no one can call it cold--but there was a certain wet chill in the air, and the mostly cloudy sky contributed to the general effect of real winter. I even caught myself huffing to see if I could see my breath, like I'd do on fall days back home, until I realized that was a little silly when I wasn't even wearing a sweatshirt.
But people here think it's cold, that's for sure. We see sweatshirts, windbreakers, wool hats, even the ocassional all-out winter jacket. But even those thin-blooded locals understand that they don't really have a real winter, and they demonstrate that fact by continuing to patronize the outdoor sections of Promenade cafes and restaurants all year round. I'm compelled to admit, though, that their ability to do so is helped by the universal presence of propane (or perhaps kerosene) heaters on poles, which cast a merry glow over many an evening meal. Without those, really, even I with my thick blood wouldn't want to sit around and let the evening cold seep into my bones. Even so, you try heating the Copa Cafe's outdoor seating in Lexington with those things, and see how many people show up.
The reason I was indoors all day is because I was working hard, making a new style for my design site and applying my new-gotten PHP knowledge to the main site. Progress, and much fun too. Now all I have to do is produce some new content...