Sun Gazing

The rain god ignored my prayers. It rained until ten this morning and the clouds still linger on until now. Dang, I knew I should have bought a PrayerMAX 5000™.

The weather might not be on our side but giving up was the last thing we had in mind. Martin and I headed to the rooftop of the tallest building in the campus at ten.

"No entry. Authorized personnels only."

Forget about it. Rules are meant to be broken. Especially during times like this when the world is coming to an end. (Unless if you've been staying under a coconut shell for the last few weeks, I'm sure you've heard of the doomsday prophecies.)

I was glad I didn't keep my anticipation high. Although the rain had stopped, not a patch of blue sky could be seen. If you ask me, this is a curse. Missing the most phenomenal event just because of crappy weather?

However, it didn't take long before our patience paid off. The sun offered us a momentary glimpse; about half of it obscured by the passing moon. Martin snapped away with his 300,000-yen camera equipped with a 150,000-yen lens. (No, he doesn't work for National Geographic.) Even at a focal length of 1.4 x 300mm, the sun turned out rather small (see it on Flickr). To the eye, it was but a mere 4mm blot in the sky.

The astrologers advised all Librans against leaving the home during the eclipse, but here I was, defying all advices, and of all things, watching the eclipse from the rooftop of a ten-storey building. For all I know, I've been cursed for the rest of my life for leaving the house this morning to witness the eclipse. I could have just gotten swept off the rooftop by a sudden gust of wind, ending my uneventful life with an elaborate finale.

But that didn't happen because an hour later, I was swimming in the pool.

Or maybe I could have gotten a heart rupture in the middle of the pool but that didn't happen either because later that evening, I was cycling like a madman, trying to rush for work in time.

Yes, I could have gotten rammed by an SUV on the busy road but that too, didn't happen because fourteen hours after the solar eclipse and counting. I'm still alive and kicking.

Except, I'm having a cough and runny nose. It might be the curse at work.

Pray.