Jumping the Gun.

Here in the Emerald City we take our summers very seriously. Having relocated to Seattle after four years in the beautiful and always sunny San Diego, I have developed a new found respect and appreciation for those golden rays when they so rarely peek out from behind the clouds during the off season here in the Northwest. And when you live in a place where the off season accounts for more than 3/4 of the year, any sunshine you can get is priceless. I have come to realize that I tend to blame all things bad in my life on the grey weather in this city. Take for example the fact that my vitamin d levels are at an all time low, or the fact that I attribute not having met any new great guys here in Seattle on the notion that it is because my hair is actually always ruined every time we go out due to the rain. It's an endless cycle really, and a vicious one at that. And although my vitamin d deficiency can be supplemented with pills, my lack of self-esteem due to my freakishly albino colored skin, cannot. Thus my construction paper chain countdown to summer and the restoration of my pride has become a top priority in my life, as the days with sun slowly begin to be more frequent and the rainy gloomy ones, fewer and far between.

Last week though, the four of us decided to screw the summer countdown, ignore the fact that just because the sun is out does not mean it is warmer than 50 degrees, and have our first rooftop BBQ of the new year. We saw the sun and headed to the store to buy essential supplies for the perfect BBQ- ingredients for skewers and enough booze for twenty people, no matter that we were only hosting a grand total of eight. I personally thought I would try my hand at cooking, which is impressive considering my past experiences in the kitchen have proven to be pretty disastrous. However, I am set on the fact that I can one day be as good of a chef slash domestic powerhouse as Madison is, and I figure I need practice, LOTS OF IT, to get me there.

Thankfully, most everything went smoothly and just as our guests began arriving, the wine was starting to hit me and I was almost totally carefree. There couldn't have been more perfect timing considering it was right around then that the skewers started igniting and catching on fire, as I was unaware that when bbq-ing them, it is important to wet the wooden sticks first before placing them over the heat. It was also around that time that the sun began to set, turning the 55 degree weather into something more along the lines of 40. Thank goodness our friends are troopers and didn't complain when instead of moving the party indoors, we brought blankets and down coats up to the rooftop deck. Talk about determination.

Minus a few minor details going awry and one slight case of hypothermia, dinner was actually fairly tasty and our conversation good. As the eight of us talked about lessons learned over the past year and watched the sun set over the Sound, I couldn't help but think about how many more nights like this are ahead. Sans the winter coats of course. And though our BBQ dinner party may have been a month and about thirty degrees too early, the company and the fact that my construction paper chain had very few links left on it, warmed my heart to a perfect temperature.