Dreaming of summer

It's New Year's Eve day, and I'm sick. I've been ill since Christmas day, my first real illness in about two years, and I've decided to stay in this evening.

There's an American Chopper marathon on Discovery Channel, and since I've nothing better to do, I'm watching it.

I want to get up at the crack of dawn on a warm spring morning, hop on my scooter, and go for a long ride out in the country. I want it so fucking bad, it hurts. I can almost smell the fragrance of spring flowers, that warm mossy scent you get after the first seasonal night, the moisture from the dew...

And all I've got instead is about three or four more months of rain and dreariness.

This morning, however, I noticed that it was light before eight a.m. for the first time this month, and that also gave me a little something to smile about.

One of the hardships about living in this part of the world is the winters. They're not that cold, but they are dark, dreary, and very, very monotonous. It's difficult to have that joie de vivre that's so easy to have in the summer. Vancouver in the sun is something to behold, my god, I love this city in the summer. In the winter, though, it has that moody, bleak feel that makes television series like the X-Files have all the atmosphere they're known for -- and it's one thing when you're setting the scene for an enigmatic science-fiction series, but an entirely different situation when it's what you have to live though.

This year's been pretty good, though, compared to other winters I've seen. It could be worse. And the positive is, but I'm one of the only Vancouverites who might say this, that we sometimes get some pretty amazing early-season warm spells. Last spring was a great example, with temperatures in the 20s c/70s f as early as March.

So, maybe my ride isn't that far off. If the weather breaks today, sick or no, I think an oceanside ride might be in order. After all, the earliest I've ever seen Vancouver's famous cherry blossoms in bloom was, in fact, on New Year's Eve. Something worth looking for, don'tcha think?

Happy New Years', folks. May 2006 bring you everything your greedy little hearts desire.