Over spring break, I took a trip to California. Upon my return, after trudging for days through the kind of rain that leaves the bottom of your pants soaking-friggin’ wet, I was once again reminded of how much I hate Kansas weather. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. Wardrobe considerations

I never know what to wear in Topeka. With one day being freezing and the next being the kind of weather for sandals and flowery skirts, how is one supposed to have a conducive outfit plan of attack? I am a woman who adores shopping. I am a woman who will gladly spend most of my weekly earnings on a pair of shoes if I feel my life depends on it, which it often does. I am a woman who should stay away from department stores but, most of all, I am a woman who doesn’t watch the weather channel. Ever. I think I speak for all of the shopping-obsessed when I say how disappointed, and somewhat bitter, it makes me when I’ve spent my hard-earned money on a lovely pair of open-toed slingbacks that I won’t reasonably be able to wear for the next month due to rain, sleet and all the rest of it. This is a very sad moment indeed and it is only somewhat mollified by the fact that I usually wear them anyway (hence the reason my feet are always freezing). This brings me to my next point.

2. I hate cold weather.

Let me say this again, I hate cold weather. I hate wind. I hate rain. I hate snow. I hate any other similar weather phenomenon that comes with a freezing cold, puffy coat-wearing day. I need sun. I need warmth. I need to not have to change my soaking pants after every walk to class.

California gets cold on occasion. There are places in California where it even snows. But not where I went on vacation. Where I went, it was warm and sunny and lovely. On occasion it was a bit chilly, especially near the ocean, but all that was needed was a light jacket and some quick distraction: easily found in heavily-populated places like San Francisco and Monterey and Chinatown. The shopping was phenomenal, the people were nice and the weather was, oh, just perfect.

Now that I am back and the weather is once again against me, I know what they say is true. I miss the predictable weather. I miss being able to wear whatever I want without weather considerations. In short, like many others before me, I’ve left my heart in San Francisco.