What's that big bright thing in the sky?

I know there is this myth circulating around the world that Seattle is a cold, gray, depressing city. During the winter I won't argue with you, but during the summer it's nothing more than a myth. According to the City of Seattle website during the month of June we see an average of 9 rain/snow days with an average of 1.53" of rain for the month. That computes to 21 clear days and .17" of rain on those days where there is precipitation. July and August are even nicer.

So why is it the instant the sun makes its first major appearance of the year everyone's brain simultaneously shorts out and we're all so excited you'd think every citizen of the city had simultaneously discovered electricity? We must be suffering from the first known case of city-wide amnesia.

Additionally, once the temprature hits 80 degrees we start melting into the asphalt. It's not even a terribly humid 80 degrees if you've ever spent 5 minutes in the midwest in the summertime. And given that most of the people I've met here are transplants from somwhere else, I think they're just complaining because it's the chic thing to do.

If nothing else, spending my freshman year of college at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, prepared me for whatever the weather may provide. In San Antonio they start putting on winter coats and turtlenecks when the weather hits 60 degrees. Having spent 10 years in the Pacific Northwest, I would go so far as to throw a sweatshirt over my t-shirt and shorts. When my friends in Oregon were calling in January to tell me they got the day off due to the snown I was sitting my air conditioned dorm room. When I returned to Oregon the next year my body couldn't handle all the changes, so the internal thermostat all but shut down. It's got to be spectacularly hot or cold out before it really starts to bother me.

Seattle summers rank high on the list of reasons I live here, and I'm going to enjoy the continued good weather we are forecasted to be receiving.