And Rain Shall Come

Sunny days and beach parties are over folks. The rainy season has officially kicked in with the entry of Tropical Storm "Caloy".

"maximum sustained winds of 100 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 130 kph"
Not bad for a rainy season opener.

Frij's in-laws drove for a visit down south, directly where the storm is at (talk about timing). They're all fine now after a few hours of traffic jam summing up to a 10 hour travel trip (usually takes 8). On the bright side though, the 38C heatwave is over (enough of the tan already) but a cool 26C is keeping me in bed a little longer than expected.

Its time to follow Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman's instructions on walking in the rain, yep no running, unless you want that additional pound of H2O soaking you (watch Discovery Channel's Mythbusters if you're wondering already)

Frij's DO'd and DONT's during the rainy season (June to October here in the Philippines):

• DO check the weather forecast before leaving the house, yesterday. Even if its 20% accurate, don't bet on the 60%.
• DO bring an umbrella (for men who are uncomfortable with bringing one, use a small one instead, just imagine the lady at the corner you could've saved from getting wet) at ALL times! Of course, if you wanted to see a bright sunny day rain, be my guest.
• DO secure your personal belongings before engaging a clustered "I don't have an umbrella crowd. Where's your umbrella?
• DO take extra care when giving tips to those stoplight windshield-wiper-kids, you might end up giving a little more.
• DO NOT engage a flooded street unless absolutely necessary or if nature's call is unavoidable.
• DO NOT walk along flooded sidewalks, unless you are familiar with the open manhole positioning or is an excellent deep flood diver. If there's a traffic jam (which is highly probable during this season), better walk in the middle of the street instead, flood level is lower and open manholes are a rare find.
  

Again, it is better to wait it out inside the comfort of a known shelter (office, mall, motel... hmm), than getting yourself wet waist down or all over. If its catching the next episode of Jack Bauer's "24", Frij could understand the urgency.

For those people Frij often see engaging a waist-high flood while holding an umbrella.. WTF?!