Andy Chase

Hmm, February 12 and it's apparently springtime in Los Angeles - the temperature has been in the 70's over the last few days, and when I went out tonight it was actually still too warm for long sleeves after dark.

But the real indicator was the scent in the air - something somehow green, with a hint of the jasmine which grows all over the place in our neighborhood.

These pleasant evenings where it's not quite warm and not quite cool are actually something I quite like about southern California - the jasmine on the breeze is what really makes nights like this feel a bit exotic, giving you a small window into the promise Los Angeles must have seemed to offer at the beginning of the last century.

It's quite a contrast to the February night in Rochester when Kim and I "started going out" (that's got to be one of the most awkward phrases in the English language) up 9 years ago. Exactly nine years ago, as a matter of fact. It was a hell of a lot colder, and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a hint of jasmine anywhere, unless it was the incense coming from under the stoners' door across the hallway.