Here Comes The Rain Again

Rainy days are here again… and unlike some people who find such season cool, relaxing and nostalgic, I, for one, dislike the rain. Dark, gloomy and wet do not in any way spell H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S. I so relate with Karen Carpenter’s feelings for Rainy Days and Mondays – they both do not make the edges of my mouth turn upward. Rain brings back sad memories of running through puddles in the ground with my stroller being pulled behind me, peeking in between wet strands of hair and the plastic hood of my raincoat as my school bus pulls out of its parking space and drives off without me. SHUDDER. And of course, there were the nightmares of commuting in Manila during my La Salle days when I didn’t have a car yet. I clearly recall how I walked through the flooded Taft Avenue knee-deep in murky waters (and God-knows what else) just to hitch a ride from a friend in the College of St. Benilde. I ended up sleeping in my friend’s car because apparently there was no way for any car to get out of the building due to the rising flood.

Ok, so maybe that was a really bad case of rain… but it does have to start somewhere, right? I guess I’m really just a normal, ‘skip-and-a-hop’ kind of person who’d rather whistle to the tune of “Sunny days….sweeping the clouds awaaaaayyyy…..” under the clear blue sky and bright shiny sun, rather than curl up under blankets in an extremely dim room watching rain hit the windowsill. I like bright. Happy. Sun smiling. Bursting of colors. Energy.

And seeing that I have no control over the weather, the best thing for me to do is to counter the gloom with activities that will surely bring a smile to my face. Here’s a list of my Rainy-Day Gloom Remedies:

1. Eat yummy BOLA-BOLA CONGEE at Luk Yuen. It fits the weather perfectly, and yet the smell, the taste and the sensation you get after just seems to make all things right.
2. Drink hot ANTONIO PUEO cocoa and watch old Bugs Bunny cartoons on Cartoon Network. Ah… so warm… so fuzzy… so comforting…
3. Play board games like MAD, Monopoly and Sorry. Brainless fun is always the best kind.
4. Watch marathon episodes of Friends. Laugh! Laugh! Laugh!
5. Get a massage at the SPA. Nothing can beat the smell of wet soil than the aroma of massage oils and calming incense. Well, if you planned on getting wet, best to do it in a hot Jacuzzi, right? And while you’re at it, get a foot spa and pedicure. Just because the sun’s hiding, doesn’t mean your toes should too.
6. Sing VIDEOKE songs as long as your lungs hold out. I mean, it’s already raining anyway! So why worry about contributing to the bad weather? Get out those Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston song lists and sing your heart out! If the downpour gets really wild, nobody will know the difference between your song belts and the claps of thunder.
7. Play video games at TIMEZONE. Go wild and crazy with that Powercard! Swipe it dry!
8. Create a blog entry about Rainy-Day Gloom Remedies. Yes, it’s working already….

Now, what to do when it rains AND you get a power outage?

I’ll have to rethink my list…....... in the dark.

SH*T….