California Dreamin'

Did I ever mention that I love the weather in LA? Most days (we're talking 90% of the time) it's clear and sunny, even throughout the fall and winter months, and it never dips below 40 degrees at night except in rare cases. What I love most is the sunshine - glorious sunshine that cheers me up.

A few years ago I went on secondment to Melbourne, Australia. I lived in Melbourne for three months as part of a work exchange program. The Melbourne counterpart of the company I used to work for leased an apartment for Rene and I in the city, and also provided us with a rental car. For all intents and purposes we were Melbourne residents for three months. We loved living in Melbourne, and sometimes when we talk about the future we discuss the possibility of living there again.

As much as I loved Melbourne there was one little thing that I didn't like during my experience. You see, I visited Melbourne during their winter (which would be our summer) and it was not sunny every day like LA. I mean, there was a little bit of sun during the day because Melbourne is known for having all four seasons in a day, but not enough sunshine. It was during this time that I realized that I may suffer from a mild form of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Not seeing the sun throughout the day made me a little bit surly; I wasn't depressed or anything, but I was grumpier without the sunshine. This is why I love LA weather - this morning I left the house and was greeted by the sun.