There are two aspects of California which I could never possibly have comprehended until I'd been here for a while. Those are the free food and the perfect weather.
I took for granted in Montreal that weather is unpredictable and that food costs money. Free food opens up whole new worlds of decisions. In my mind are growing the beginnings of a new form of economics. It all stems from the opportunity cost of eating too much free food. (That is, eating more food now costs in appetite later.) This may sound funny, but it is a very real concern. The variety of food here is so great that a full stomach on the wrong night could prevent me from ever eating some rare and scrumptious dishes.
The weather is more subtle. Only after a few weeks can I really begin to notice it. My appreciation is amplified by complaints from everyone back home of horrible, hot and humid weather. Not to gloat, but over here you simply don't have to worry about what to wear. You can't make mistakes. You don't get caught in the rain.
I have started a new routine: every day I will take at least one picture which encapsulates the weather for that day. I've got two already; by the end of the summer I'll have around ninety. I'll put them all in a photo album, and then I'll stare at the album in a dejected trance when I get home and it's actually raining.