On Rain & Random Thoughts

It’s been raining, hailing and storming all day and all night. And it looks like this night will be much the same. (Tonights forecast: Very windy with showers and thunderstorms, some heavy this evening; cloudy and cold with rain late. Winds from the WSW at 43 km/h. Realfeel®: 2 °C, Low: 8 °C. Courtesy of weatherbase.com)

The sewer system has been updated pretty good in my neighborhood, I noticed. Storms like this used to result in flooded streets. On the Corniche you’d have rows and rows of stalled cars, water up to the doors, and fogged up windows, while owners sat inside, contemplating whether to get out and push, or just wait till the water would recede. Or call a friend and ask to help out.
Sometimes it’d be so bad you couldn’t cross the street unless you were willing to wade up to your knees through the water. Ah, those were the days. This place is so civilized now. In some ways. The government must be happy with this kind of weather; nothing keeps street protesters home better than a good storm. But beauty will not be beaten by this weather, as you can see from the umbrellas at the entrance of the local beauty parlor. Beauty is big business in this place. A little rain won’t keep these ladies in.

And the chickens look very enticing too when it’s cold outside. I bought one for 12,000 LBP. My dinner partners say it is expensive. They used to sell them for 9,000 LBP, they say. Yeah, with the emphasis on ‘used to.’ It seems my grocery bill has increased with about 25% lately, haven't they noticed anything? Yes, they have, they admit.
They say it’s snowing at 600 meters tonight. That’s pretty low. I’m thinking skiing. And to show you what we’ve become, a colleague of mine voiced the hope that if – "I’m just saying if, it’s not that I want this to happen, no, God forbid, but just if” – a bomb is going to explode, then let it be on Thursday. This way Friday will be off, and we’ll have a long weekend. I am thinking Friday. Then Saturday will be a day of mourning, and I’ll have the slopes for myself again.
So now we’re integrating explosions into our daily life.

My son has a dinner date tonight. It started at 8. What 14 year old has a dinner date on a week night that starts at 8:00? What's wrong with dinner at 6:00? It's not really family policy to be out of the house that late on a weekday, but this is a special occasion. It's a girl in his class, and she is leaving the country tomorrow. 'Because of the situation', she says. The family leaves the country mid-year, because they do not think it is safe anymore. Now that should tell you something.

Remember the ship.