California makes me feel intelligent

For those of you who haven't been keeping track (ie, all of you. All 3 of you. Arbitrary number... I don't know how many people read this thing), I'm now a senior in college. Which means I have entered my fourth year of living in Southern California. And I thought I'd do a change of pace--an experiment since I'm still not sure what direction I want this blog to go in--and share some thoughts on the subject.

Me and SoCal have a wonderful love/hate relationship. It's just a phrase, mind you. I never actually hate LA...but you get what I mean (I blindly assume you do, at least). Living in a place where it's pretty much always sunny is absolutely wonderful. Prior to being an undergrad, I had spent my whole life in Chicago. Now, don't get me wrong. I love Chicago. But I detest winter. Here's what they don't tell you about snow:

• It's scary to drive in (I'm a huge fan of not dying)
• Snow isn't always sparkling white like in the Christmas movies, kiddies. When piled up in the side of the road, it takes on a shade of grey that vaguely reminds you of dead fish.
• IT'S FREAKIN' COLD OKAY?!

So when I see the ladies of California prancing around the beach wearing Uggs, I get confused (and believe me, I have seen it). You see, I am used to wearing Uggs when it's 10 degrees outside with a -15 degree windchill, in order to keep my feet from getting freezing cold and yelling at me. Worst of all is when it rains in California. In spite the local's assuring me that it "never rains" here--it has rained quite a number of times in the almost four years I have lived here. Sometimes for a week straight. I'm fine with it, because hey--it's not snow, and it'll go away eventually. But people in LA are in such denial over it. Which leads to....

Yesterday:

It's raining. I prepare myself by wearing rain boots, a trench coat (red, to make myself feel like Carmen Sandiego), and an umbrella. Note: I was wearing clothes under the trench coat too, guys. Try as I might I would never have the will power to be the campus rainy-day flasher.

How did the girls on campus prepare themselves? (Okay, not all of them...but a surprising number). They wore Uggs. UGH. UGGS. Can I go over what's wrong about this?

• Uggs are expensive. The classic sheepskin kind costs 90-100 dollars. Why are you destroying nice things?! My friends, you can buy up to 400 gum balls with that kind of money. Now, while some people have those fancy sprays to protect the material, I can't imagine that it can protect much against the mud should it be encountered. But even if it can, consider my next bullet...
• Let me reiterate the "classic sheepskin" thing. By wearing Uggs in the rain, you are essentially wearing wet sheep on your feet. As someone who's adamant against soggy socks, I can't imagine that feeling to be a pleasant one.
• It's not even cold out.
• It does not go with that short skirt at all.

All I'm saying is that I'm puzzled over this. It's a culture shock, but rest assured I still love it here.