“so you’re gonna move back to California, aren’t you?”*

Once upon a long, long time ago (in what feels like a previous life) I was an associate store manager for the Gap (or “the Crap” as I liked to call it). I had been working for the company in Cali and transferred when I moved here for grad school. It was a no-brainer job with a great discount and a flexible work schedule (which worked with my inconsistent school schedule). One of my first weeks on the job in DC, I was helping a customer and during our conversation she revealed that she was originally from California. I got excited. Yay! A fellow Californian.

I asked her how long she had been in DC and she replied, “Four long years.” After telling her that I had just moved here and I was having some trouble adjusting, I asked her, “How do you like the city?” She said, “I love DC. There’s so much to do and see. But I hate the weather. I know that I was spoiled back home, sun and warmth all year round. But the humidity—I hate. The cold—I hate. And don’t let anyone fool you. It’s been 4 years and I’m still not used to the weather. You’ll never get used to it.”

She rained on my parade. I loved DC so far. Sure it was the middle of the summer and I felt as though I was melting away every time I stepped outside, but I was excited about following my dream to DC. But in 4 years since I helped that customer, I have not forgotten those words, “You’ll never get used to it.” My first winter in DC I got to experience snow for the first time. And I got to experience my first snow days. And I got to experience the coldest days of my life (until my trip to Chicago last December). Every time I meet someone new and I tell them I’m from southern Cali, the response is the same every time, “Why would you leave such a perfectly magical place and move to this, the 9th circle of hell?” (ok, so maybe I embellished a bit)

Every summer and every winter I ask myself the same thing—Why am I here again? I forget.

So what I’m trying to say is, I hate this weather. And when you find out that the weekend temperatures in Orange County (aka Home)will hit 80 this weekend, you end up feeling more than disappointed. You feel desperate to go back. And you question why you’re here in the first place.

So I tell myself, “Great job. Jesse. Great job. Jesse. Great job. JESSE” That’s why I’m here.

But somehow that doesn’t make me feel any warmer.

*Today’s blog post title is brought to you by Shama, my coworker who said those words to me yesterday after my little weather rant.