Usually there is no reason to make a big deal about the weather. It's always a good conversation topic for the simple reason that everyone knows how the weather is. Want to safely break the ice? All you have to do is say "Cold out today," "Can you believe this weather?" or "Think it will rain?" Everyone has an opinion, and lately, the Average Joe seems to have as much accuracy as the local meteorologist. Something happened, however, this January in Albuquerque that deserves a little extra attention. It was the warmest and driest January ever recorded.

Since 1893, someone has been recording temperatures, and never has the average been 43.2 degrees. In 1909, the average January temperature was 42.6 degrees. Big deal? Well, kind of. Remember that that was the average temperature. With nights dipping down into the twenties, a bulk of the daytime highs shot up into the sixties and hit the seventies on occasion. Sunny afternoons worthy of any day in spring. It was difficult to remind yourself that it was only the first month of the year.

With balmy weather came the absence of precipitation, which we officially received a trace. Not a half inch, not a quarter inch, not even .01. A trace. The desert is warm and dry, and as much as I anticipate a backlash for this strange occurrence, the aberration seemed much more like a blessing to a sun bunny like myself.

One of the reasons I like Albuquerque is the mild winters. While the bulk of the nation gets a white blanket that never leaves until spring dumped on it, the high desert gets a light dusting of snow that rarely lasts three days after it hits the ground. I like the changing of the seasons, but I've never been a fan of the cold. I'd rather be too hot than too cold. I'd rather burn than freeze. I'd rather be crazy from the heat than shivering from the cold. 60-degree weather in January? I could get used to that.

Of course, you can't get used to record setting years. It was a fluke. There were still major weather fronts that rolled across the country, but they just happened to miss us this year. Boston goes into seriously negative temperatures, North Carolina gets hit with ice storms, New Mexico is left alone. Go figure.

As a cab driver, I am at the mercy of the outside elements. If it's raining while I'm working, I drive in the rain. If it's snowing, I cruise through the snow. If it's sunny, I peel off the layers until get down to my T-shirt. Travelers from Chicago, Minnesota and even Florida looked at my town's anomaly with reverence. Sunny days, blue skies. I even pulled out my bike early this year for some fresh air exercise.

There is a downside to all the dry warmth. The junipers are pollinating early, the fly eggs are hatching, the allergies will blossom early this year. In an area that seems to experience drought conditions every year, the lack of moisture will crumble the ecosystem just a touch more. Forest fires more than likely will occur in abundance this summer.

So what do you do? Revel in the unseasonably record setting mild temperatures or worry about the inevitable consequences? I'm going with the former. These magical months don't last, but for a man who likes his winters easy, they don't come much easier. Although January wasn't the easiest month to stomach in many ways, the weather did more than its share to life my spirits. The sun makes me think positive thoughts. It keeps my mood up even when I want to feel lousy. It makes me think things are going to be all right for a while.

Now that February has arrived, the Space Shuttle Columbia blew up on re-entry, the U.S. will bring evidence to the UN urging them to wipe out a sunny Middle Eastern country, and the silent unadmitted recession continues to take no prisoners. Only humans can make the warmest January in recent history seem like an afterthought to the other aspects of life. So much for nature helping to turn things around.

We now return to our self-made drama, already in progress.

Chris Jungle is getting warmer, warmer, warmer...