Monday, November 20, 2006

Weather in Seattle

I was in Seattle for business trip the past week. The weather there was depressing, raining the moment my flight arrived till the day before I left. But on the last day, it was sunny, and the lake looked prettier than ever. I almost wanted to take the day off to do some sight-seeing. Almost. I guess if the weather had been nice for a couple more days, my week up there won't be so productive.

Comparing to Bay Area where we take the sun shine for granted, I definitely was more excited with the rare sun shine in Seattle. I often wonder why we gain more utility not from the absolute value of something (constant sunny weather), but the delta (from rainy to sunny). Would I be happier to live at a place that rains frequently but has sunshine once in a while, or a place that constantly has sunshine?

I guess that's why happiness isn't always proportional to material richness.

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