Good Day Sunshine

The sun came out at last. I hope it’s a good omen for my visit to the doctor tomorrow. Since my fateful fall, the weather has been mainly crappy and deep inside of me I don’t mind that at all. My world has been so dramatically altered for the worse that somehow I resent the universe for not stopping for the coming weeks just like my life will. Talk about sucking at being Zen and stuff. But anyway, truth be told, even limited as I am to the patch of uptown Manhattan sky I can see from my living room, blue and bright really does something to your soul, to the point that my leg almost feels a little better.

Being born in southern Spain, I used to take good weather for granted. I don’t mean to sound chauvinistic, but Mediterranean weather really rocks. It seems to be the exception in a world full of really shitty climates. I don’t care what Mike says: homo sapiens is a tropical animal, and the Belorussian Riviera (whatever that is) will not be in my beach travel plans anytime soon.

Of course during the summer it gets hot back home, but you have the beach and none of that nasty humidity that wraps New York in a thick sweaty layer during the hottest weeks of the year. Nights are especially delightful. I remember the childhood family dinners al fresco in Chiclana or more recently the dama de noche scented Marbella nights after one of Dan’s amazing meals.

Also of course in winter it will get chilly. My father used to say “But it’s never cold in Cádiz!” -his favorite quote when he caught me with the electric heater pumped up to the max in my room. Well, trust me on this one: it can get pretty damn frigid. But still, many times you will be able to enjoy a beer and a tapa de ensaladilla in a terraza under the December sun with as little as a shirt on. And unlike in scorching August, those sunbeams feel so right on your skin…

I don’t know why this post turned out so meteorological and nostalgic at the same time. It must be that today I saw the sunshine on my window. Or that according to my original plans today I was supposed to have an outdoors barbecue with high school friends several thousand of miles away. All I can say is that today I saw the sun and felt a tiny bit happy. Now that’s something to blog about.

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PS: This may sound a bit desperate, but writing is quite lonely so if anybody is reading me and wants to leave a comment, that would make my blogging day.

Jingle Bell Rock

Ok, so here's the thing: I do like Christmas. I believe it's a damn good idea.

Don't think that I am being naive or, even worse, cynical. I get the haters. It's commercial and stressful. The weather is cold, even in Cádiz. No one likes to pretend that the cheap cologne your aunt gives you is the best present ever, etc. etc.

However you also get to hang out with people you love. Or share most of your gene pool with. You can eat without guilt ridiculous amounts of very delicious food, specifically amarguillos de Medina (when my Amish Market finally discovers those, it's gonna be its definite graduation to coolest food store this side of the Guadalete). And, what the heck, cheap cologne or not, at the end of the season you get presents.

I mean how much of a bitter anorexic bore do you have to be to not like all or some of that? None of my readers, I am sure. All three of them (myself included).

The serious drawback of Navidad is that no matter how hard you try you can never reproduce that perfect Christmas of 1981. When, even though you knew there was something clearly non kosher (pun intended) in the Three Wise Men presents on January 6th, you still kind of believed in them and left them milk, cookies, and hay for the camels. When grandma cooked turkey with almonds and cyclopean mountains of pestiños. When mom bought the turrón de fruta that no one else liked just for you. When mom was there.

But no matter what I still refuse to join the ranks of of the jaded santaphobes. I still think it's the most wonderful time of the year. Sort of. Some years. So now, on to my 2009 Nochebuena dinner spread...

Evidently some green motherfucker stole my left ankle and my Christmas. Feliz Navidad everybody.