Wet Days

Thanks to the rain, I couldn't finish my jogging course. Now, here I am, wet from the rain, and sticky from the sweat.

I thought I could push on till I finished the 10-km course. But when the rain got heavier, I started getting worried. Several possibilities flashed through my mind.

The first one, of course, was that the rain'd stop soon and I'd complete the run, get a shower and have a good night's sleep. That was pretty optimistic but unfortunately, was unlikely considering that it's the rainy season.

So, that brought me to the second possibility - I push on, the drizzle turns into a downpour and I get screwed. Should I get stranded 10km away from home, catching a cab would be a sound choice. I have, uh, 105 yen in my left pocket. But I was quite sure 105 yen couldn't even pay for the minimum fare. Nor could it get me a train ride or a bus ride. No, nothing more than a bottle of sports drink from the 100 yen shop, which was exactly what it was intended for.

Which means, in the worst case scenario, I might have to seek shelter under a bridge till the rain subsided. And that could be anytime between tomorrow morning and next Monday. So, not willing to take any chances, I turned back halfway. By the time I got home, I was soaked till the underwear. I assure you it's as bad as, if not worse than soggy socks.

Speaking of the rainy season, the weather's almost unpredictable. You check the weather report in the morning, which says it's going to be sunny. So off you go without an umbrella. Then at night when you're on your way home, lo and behold, the heaven pours down! That's exactly what happened to me two weeks ago - caught in heavy downpour while cycling home, without an umbrella, and worse, with the laptop in the backpack.

Oh well, can't blame the weatherman, can we? Weather forecast is afterall, a tricky business; it can never be as accurate as tarot card reading.

However, yesterday, something bizarre happened in the news - the weatherman apologized for the inaccurate weather forecast he made the day before. Oh come on, we all know that if you want a 100% accurate weather forecast, you don't listen to the weatherman, you go to a gypsy fortune-teller. What's there to apologize? If weather forecasts are always accurate, no one's going to get caught in the rain without an umbrella. God shouldn't be denied the pleasure of screwing up a few midgets once in a while.

During the rainy season, doing the laundry can't be any harder. Now that you know the weatherman can't be completely trusted, you're basically left with only one alternative, the Chinese almanac. Yeah, the kind of calendar superstitious Chinese old ladies consult to pick an auspicious day to clean the bathroom or to dye the hair. Some days are just not meant for doing laundry; you have to live with it.

Ah, and I'm quite sure it's written somewhere that you can skip classes during rainy days...