This one will have to be a short one, and it may even be cut short, as we are currently under a thunderstorm warning, complete with lighting and thunder. This means we might lose power at any moment (I’ve already got my blackout kit ready) and have had to move our car because the parking area fills up near the middle.

It also means I have to watch the drain on the balcony because it has a habit of back-flowing and slowly filling up the balcony. Basically, the gutters all empty out under our balcony and if the rain is too hard, the water takes a walk on our balcony. This video is something we showed our landlord a few years ago. He basically went, “yeah, interesting, great video”.

In my younger and stupider days (which contrast greatly with my older and stupider days), I used to like to go outside during a large thunderstorms. I enjoyed walking around barefoot in the rain (usually under an umbrella but not always) and experiencing the sound and sensory experience–remember I can’t smell the rain so this is how I have to enjoy it. I’d even roam around during lighting and thunder.

Then, of course, there’d be flashKAPOW moment and I’d go inside and dry off. I still enjoy going out in the rain, for the most part, but don’t enjoy the “Really, what the HELL are you doing?” looks from She Who Must Be Obeyed. Which is usually followed by tossed keys and “Since you’re out there acting like an idiot, anyway, go move the car.”

Now, of course, I’m expected to go work during the rain, which is no fun, especially as I’m expected to be presentable (well, at least be wearing presentable clothes) when I get to work. It’s also no fun getting to work in wet shoes and having to wear them all day. Yes, I know, I know, have a spare pair at work. However, Japan rarely has my size and shoes are expensive to import. Then, if it’s rainy season or the season in which it rains, I wear a second pair of shoes the next day, and get them soaked. The next three days are spent alternating between pairs of shoes that make squishing sounds as I limp around the school. (Nothing projects authority like a limp and a squish, which now that I think about it, sounds kind of dirty.)

The only good thing about it is that sometimes it rains hard enough to disrupt trains and I get the day off from work. I mean, it’s terrible when that happens and I’m deprived of the opportunity to go work. Yeah, that’s what I mean. Really.