How it feels to hate fall in the pnw…

Today I woke up with the realization that the transition between summer and fall had officially begun. It was windy, rainy,  and I had to consider putting on a jacket. *heavy sigh*.

I cannot stress enough just how much distaste I have for this dreary and uninviting excuse of a season.

Seriously.

I. Can’t. Even.

Every fall it’s the same thing. Hoards of my Facebook acquaintances posting status after status about how “fall is life”, how excited they are to eat/drink their favorite pumpkin spice flavored whatever, and how they “have been waiting so long for this ‘sweater’ weather to return.” It’s absolutely despicable.

Nothing about this season is appealing to me. First and most importantly, the sun starts to go away. This means that I’m going to be cold, and i’m going to be cold often. I hate being cold. As far as i’m concerned, being as close to naked at all times is my ideal clothing situation, and doing that during these fall months is near impossible.

Second, outdoor activities are suddenly much less appealing. It’s hard for me to get a big volleyball or Frisbee match going with my mates when there are hurricane grade winds, or torrential downpours happening simultaneously outside. And my single favorite pastime of life (anything that has to do with playing in a large body of water), seems pretty insane when it’s only 50 degrees outside. Starting to see my dilemma?

There’s also the fact that for most people, and myself included, fall means the start up of participating in our educational system again. Which if you aren’t currently in school and you’ve seem to have forgotten what that feels like, it’s no fun. It means that I have to re teach myself how to adult for the next three months and manage a s*** ton of responsibilities again. In contrast of that,  Summer means having mindless and non stop fun anytime I want that i’m not working.

But none of that matters to any of the crazies that purposely inhabit this corner of the country. Their eyes light up whenever they see some leaves start to die and exhibit signs of chlorophyll deterioration (ie “changing colors”). They readily and excitedly throw on as many layers as possible, (however unnecessary to actual temperature regulation) just to feel some strange kind of self imposed comfort. Even the rain, which is such a burden on so many aspects of life, makes even the most seemingly sane north westerner giggle in unadulterated delight.

Kill me now.

I’ve tried reasoning with these people, but every conversation ends in me shaking my head in conjunction with enough face palms to cause literal decapitation. So i’ve stopped trying. At this point I just try and occupy myself with indoor activities and constant visualizations of sunny San Diego beaches.

So please excuse me while I go lock myself in my room underneath a pile of blankets. I’ll be blasting “Summer Nights” on repeat, and having my fake sun running full power 24/7.

#TeamSummerForLife

Joyous Occasions

What’s the happiest moment of your life?

For a 22 year old, male, college student like me, mine is going to involve the homies, wine, something to eat, and a huuuuge party.

But for most (a little later on in life), they would say that it’s their wedding. Ie, the day they got married.

Hmm…..come to think of it…mine and theirs isn’t all that different after all. Weddings are pretty much just big awkwardly planned parties where small children and pets are allowed.

Yesterday I attended my first wedding and it was just downright magical.

I am blown away by anyone who says anything bad about, or that can’t enjoy one of those things. I’ve now concluded that those kinds of people are just empty and perpetually unhappy recluses that mostly likely live under a rock. It’s the only logical explanation for not being able to enjoy such a wonderful occasion.

From beginning to end there were smiles and grins as far as the eye could see (Figuratively speaking of course. If that were literal it would be pretty creepy. Also impossible). And besides the (super cool Frank Sinatra) music in the background, an almost endless stream of the most sincere laughter imaginable could be heard echoing through the gathering area.

Like I said before, magical.

I’ve just never seen so many happy people in one place at the same time before. It was as if Warren Buffet invited everyone in the city over to Prince’s house for a give-away-all-of-my-money party, and got guns and roses/skrillex to simultaneously perform, all while being in rooms filled with golden retriever puppies and apple pie. Then afterwards, they got their picture taken with the president. Such a cool feeling.

Weddings are special in that they let (require?) everyone to get dressed to the nine, provide you with (hopefully) a delicious meal or two, and give you an excuse to let loose a little. And yes, I do mean dancing.

One of my favorite moments of the reception was watching these two little boys get down with their bad selves to “uptown funk” by Bruno mars. What made it even better was the three old ladies shaking what their mothers gave them right next to the kids. And to make it even better, they were the only five people on the dance floor at the time. Everybody had one big free pass to just enjoy themselves and leave any silly inhibitions behind.

But despite all of that, nothing really compares to the beauty the actual ceremony itself. Even though i was just a family friend of the bride, I (and anyone else with a soul who was there) was feeling just about every emotion possible. Those who were more emotionally inclined were basically open faucets with the tears throughout the whole process. It was honestly that good.

You could just feel the passion by the minister(who also happened to be the bride’s father) as he talked about the importance of the day itself. He was choking up the whole time, and you couldn’t help but feel his love radiating outward as he had to give away his precious oldest daughter. Even the bride and groom, two people who know each other the best, seemed barely able to keep it together and keep comfortable. A marriage just might be the only occasion on the planet to cause that level of elation, and give you several heart attacks simultaneously as well.

And that is exactly what I loved about it so much. Emotion is looked own upon to some extent in our society. Feeling things and expressing them in certain ways is seen as being “weak” or not having enough “self control”. But I completely disagree. Not only do I think emotions are okay, i’m going to go on record by saying that they are in fact, a good thing. To me, it’s healthy to laugh until your sides hurt, or cry when you have a swell of feelings you can’t properly express any other way. Those are just really dope parts about being human.

The wedding gave permission for everyone to lay down their worries, insecurities, and inhibitions, get out of their comfort zones, and just LIVE. Nobody was there to judge, or criticize anyone else. The whole event was set up to be experienced freely, and that is a rarity in this day and age. To be in a large social gathering with little to no pressure or scrutiny, as well as almost no negativity, is incredible.

Seeing people of all colors, sizes, ages, and lifestyles enjoying themselves in such close proximity is a supreme triumph of humanity.

So next time you get that wedding invite from your mates, you better RSVP, ASAP.

It might just become your new favorite memory. I know it’s most definitely one of mine now. Happy Weddin’ season ya’ll. =]