The Most Fearsome of Days

[CmFtns]

So today was one of those days... those days filled with fear and stress as the hours creep closer to clock out time... one of those days where the dreaded water again falls from the sky.

Now for me, I woke up this morning just as I do every weekday and as I'm getting ready for work I check the weather as part of my routine. Usually it is a sunny, boring, and normal day but not today, on rare days like today a magical thing happens, and I will get the pleasure a free water park ride on my bike ride to or from work. On these days I am the most excited because I will get to zoom through the water and watch as my thin tires pierce through the puddles and throw up a magnificent wake and sling water into the air and every once and a while, if I am so very lucky, a car will come by and splash me with a giant wave of refreshing vigor. I truly have the most fun biking during a downpour but everyone else fears the wicked water. They scramble to find their umbrellas at the office, "Oh no I left my umbrella in my car... what will I do". It is pure madness.

So, I go to leave at the end of the day and pause outside to get ready for my ride. Another man walks out and sighs and says "oh no.. grumble grumble what will I do... grumble grumble" and stands there for the whole time as I put my phone & wallet in my lunchbox and pack up my shoes in the bottom of my backpack so they don't get dirty and wet for tomorrow. He is obviously distressed and trying to decide how he could possibly conquer this un-passable barrier between him and his car. I'm concurrently putting on my rain jacket and then my helmet. I turn on my bike lights and then without a word I zip out into the darkness leaving him to ponder how I could possibly break through this impenetrable wall.

I will never understand how other people take showers with their irrational aqua-phobia but lucky for me I do not possess this fear.

[Tyn]

I know how you feel, I often don't realise it's raining until I see other people with umbrellas up (well lightly drizzling would be a more accurate description).  I don't enjoy getting soaked on my ride home, so I'm not quite at your level :) but even when I'm cold and wet I enjoy the relative quietness of the cycle path and I'm grateful that I'm not squashing myself onto a tube full of grumpy commuters.

[iris lily]

This made me laugh. I don't bike.

I don't mind rain and probably touch an umbrella about once every 3 - 4 years. It would be an unusual conflagration of events where it is pouring rain, I have to be some place and I have to look nice at that place. Seldom happens. I will admit to often throwing my coats or bag of whatever over my head, though, when dashing to the car.

When I used to walk to work and back,  I honestly did not mind getting wet if it was 1) warm weather and 2) on my way home. It is, as you say, kinda refreshing. But then salt from my head gets into my eyes and hat is not cool.

[deborah]

It must have been wonderful after the really hot days last week!

[Nickyd£g]

Ha!  Try living on the west coast of Scotland, where it rains approximately 300 days a year. I must admit I hate the weather here, and my retirement plans include moving somewhere sunny and warm. But, I do still walk most days to and from work - around 1.2 miles each way.  I just wrap up warm, wear a hooded jacket and get out there - I see no point in complaining 300 days a year!

(I did once live in San Francisco, and found the reaction of people when it rained highly amusing.  You would think Armageddon had come! There were warnings and bulletins all over the radio and TV, people were terrified of driving in the rain, never mind being out in it.  I realise it is unusual to get a lot of rain in California, but I still found it funny).

[Louisville]

I have the same attitude - in summer. In winter, no. But Florida is permanent summer, so you rock on.

[golden1]

Heh...I hear you.  I could never understand why people are afraid of getting wet.  I take a  walk at lunch every day with a bunch of folks and if it rains, almost all of them drop out.  I love the rain!

I am also a runner and will run in nearly everything except below 0F (and that is mostly because I just don't have the right gear for it) or if there is so much snow on the ground that I can't find a path.  I love running in the rain and snow!  It's refreshing.   

[Rubic]

I hate cleaning up the bicycle drivetrain after riding in the rain, especially since I live in a condominium.  It doesn't prevent me from wet riding, but I don't look forward to the post-ride cleanup.

[CmFtns]

Yea I guess I have the benefit of florida weather which may make it a bit easier for me

I hate cleaning up the bicycle drivetrain after riding in the rain, especially since I live in a condominium.  It doesn't prevent me from wet riding, but I don't look forward to the post-ride cleanup.

I guess the amount of cleanup depends on how much one cares about their bike. Mine is inexpensive and an A=>B tool so I just make sure it doesn't get rusty and keep on riding.

[mm1970]

This was entertaining.

We are in the midst of El Nino here in CA.  Two days this week it was POURING rain when it was time to leave in the morning.  My street is on a hill, and my children and I had to walk up and down along our driveway and the berm to find a place to leap over the river of water going down the street.  And we had to do this on both sides of the street.

My toddler (whom I was carrying), complained in the car that he was wet and wanted dry clothing.  (He refused his rain jacket and was wearing only a sweatshirt.)  The first words out of his mouth at childcare was "I want dry clothing".  Ha. 

By day 2 (same thing, pouring rain), he was used to it.

I will admit it was several hours at work before my jeans were dry, and my socks were wet the whole day.

[Dollar Slice]

I love the rain but I don't love being wet if I'm at work/elsewhere. Getting soaked on the way home is A-OK. Peeling off the wet clothes, drying off and getting into my PJs feels great (just like being out in the cold, when coming inside and warming up is a treat).

I remember one time as a kid we were at the beach, swimming and playing in the ocean, and it started to rain. Not a thunderstorm or anything, just some rain. And everyone except me and my friend got out of the water and ran for their cars. WTF? You are literally submerged in water but are simultaneously unwilling to get wet? Does not compute!

[cerat0n1a]

Did the English expression "You're not made of sugar", addressed to someone reluctant to go out in the rain make it over the Atlantic? German has the same phrase, oddly enough.

[Rubic]

Did the English expression "You're not made of sugar", addressed to someone reluctant to go out in the rain make it over the Atlantic? German has the same phrase, oddly enough.

Implied, by nearly every adult who spoke to me in my youth when I had to trudge through the rain:

"You won't melt!"

[deborah]

We are in the midst of El Nino here in CA. 

We are too in South Eastern Australia. For us, it means drought. Rain is really welcome.

[StockBeard]

But, but, rain is cold and wet and stuff!

[Jack]

Did the English expression "You're not made of sugar", addressed to someone reluctant to go out in the rain make it over the Atlantic? German has the same phrase, oddly enough.

Implied, by nearly every adult who spoke to me in my youth when I had to trudge through the rain:

"You won't melt!"

I've heard both versions.

[Lkxe]

My mother used to say You're sweet but not sugar My father however would look directly at you and say (in German often, because German wasn't swearing ??) Shit floats


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[11ducks]

Did the English expression "You're not made of sugar", addressed to someone reluctant to go out in the rain make it over the Atlantic? German has the same phrase, oddly enough.

I love that expression! My superpower is that I'm waterproof....

[Playing with Fire UK]

Worst things in the world:

Getting wet feet at the start of a long day when you have no dry socks
Papercuts
Having to use non-tax advantaged accounts

Anything else?

[CmFtns]

Worst things in the world:

Getting wet feet at the start of a long day when you have no dry socks
Papercuts
Having to use non-tax advantaged accounts

Anything else?

Take Socks Off???

[Playing with Fire UK]

Take Socks Off???

I was using long day to suggest a day were socks must be worn (e.g. hiking, soldiering or fancy office), lack of socks and wet boots => horrible blisters.

I respect your positive solution-based approach but need to uninvite you to my pity party.

[shelivesthedream]

Take Socks Off???

I was using long day to suggest a day were socks must be worn (e.g. hiking, soldiering or fancy office), lack of socks and wet boots => horrible blisters.

I respect your positive solution-based approach but need to uninvite you to my pity party.

When I worked in an office and walked to work, if it rained I would arrive, make a cup of tea and then take my shoes and socks off under the desk. I had to cross my fingers that no one would ask me to get up for an hour (and make sure I was doing computer-only work - no printing) but after that I could slip them back on and no one would be any the wiser. 

[cerat0n1a]

When I worked in an office and walked to work, if it rained I would arrive, make a cup of tea and then take my shoes and socks off under the desk. I had to cross my fingers that no one would ask me to get up for an hour (and make sure I was doing computer-only work - no printing) but after that I could slip them back on and no one would be any the wiser.

Where I work, it's considered perfectly OK to take off shoes and socks in the office and I often do, although I don't normally walk round barefoot as it might be considered unhygienic. Of course, as I work with mostly chip designers and software engineers, it's also considered OK to spend your workday wearing socks with open toed sandals, or to turn up to work every day in one red sock and one green sock, or in barefoot running shoes.

[shelivesthedream]

When I worked in an office and walked to work, if it rained I would arrive, make a cup of tea and then take my shoes and socks off under the desk. I had to cross my fingers that no one would ask me to get up for an hour (and make sure I was doing computer-only work - no printing) but after that I could slip them back on and no one would be any the wiser.

Where I work, it's considered perfectly OK to take off shoes and socks in the office and I often do, although I don't normally walk round barefoot as it might be considered unhygienic. Of course, as I work with mostly chip designers and software engineers, it's also considered OK to spend your workday wearing socks with open toed sandals, or to turn up to work every day in one red sock and one green sock, or in barefoot running shoes.

I worked there from Feb to July last year. At the beginning I was very concerned to fit in with office etiquette, as I don't normally work in an office. Near the end, there was about a month in May/June when the heating was stuck on full blast and it was really hot outside. I walked around barefoot all the time. No one ever asked me to put my shoes on. But by then I had established myself as super-temp (so, so efficient and hardworking and doesn't need the job to pay the bills) so I think that if they had minded they wouldn't have wanted to ask in case I left.

I don't really get people having a problem with bare feet because it's unhygienic. If everyone else is wearing shoes, the only hygiene fear is for the barefoot person, who is obviously making their own choice.

[Rubic]

Take Socks Off???

I was using long day to suggest a day were socks must be worn (e.g. hiking, soldiering or fancy office), lack of socks and wet boots => horrible blisters.

I respect your positive solution-based approach but need to uninvite you to my pity party.

When I worked in an office and walked to work, if it rained I would arrive, make a cup of tea and then take my shoes and socks off under the desk. I had to cross my fingers that no one would ask me to get up for an hour (and make sure I was doing computer-only work - no printing) but after that I could slip them back on and no one would be any the wiser.

When I suspect I'll be cycling in the rain, I just pack an extra pair of socks in a ziplock bag.  Post-rain (or post-ride) I swap the wet socks for dry.

Since I wear cycling sandals rather than enclosed bike shoes, the water rolls right off.  However, the trick for people wearing enclosed shoes:  after you remove the shoes, pack the interior tightly with old newspaper, which will seriously absorb much of the damp.