Ils Pluie

Despite my homesickness (hey, we all have our days) there are a lot of things I really like about New York. One of them being watching New Yorkers when it rains. PRICELESS! As you can imagine, any minor varient in an otherwise normal day will inevitably throw the city into complete chaos...so funny. I had no idea a few inches of rain were so tramatic...but apparently subways shut down (more due to poor infrastructure, but still!) and it's IMPOSSIBLE to get a cab. So here's my top 10 reasons I love NY when it rains....

10. Watching people use ANYTHING for shelter
Garbage bags, newspapers, dogs...WHATEVER...you'd think it was kryptonite falling from the sky. SERIOUSLY people??!?!


9. Dogs
Heheheheh there's nothing funnier than seeing this perfectly put together person (men or women, because they BOTH put a lot of effort into their daily attire here.) And as they're fashionably sauntering down the street their designer muts are COMPLETELY soaked...heheheheh. But I guess at the end of the day, it's the maid's problemanyway. Sigh.


8. Rain Boots
OMG where do they come from? As soon as there's a cloud in the sky every woman in town has her rain boots on. And they're not some big, ugly, green wellys. We're talking cute little fashion boots in plaid, polka dots, zebra strip, whatever.


7. Umbrellas
O.k. this is not a problem unique to NY but thought it was worth mentioning anyway. What makes people think that's it's cool to use a GOLF UMBRELLA on city streets? Seriously...we're not walking the back nine here people...it's midtown Manhattan, why must I dodge your 7-foot wide umbrella when you're only 5'1 and 112 pounds? So annoying!


6. It's glisteny
When it rains at night, or actually when it's just stopped, the whole place is under this gossimer sheen. So cool To witness this effect you need to see it at night, when all the lights play off the reflections. Who new a street festooned with garbage could be so beautiful?


5. The sounds
Sure this isn't unique to the city, but listening to the sound of the rain hitting your umbrealla (or car, or window or nearly anything for that matter) is quite relaxing and when you sit back to enjoy it, gives you a peaceful feeling like none other.


4. The Rivers
Actually this is another thing I despise, but worth noting that NY must have the WORST storm drain system in the world. Like clockwork as soon as the showers begin, the massive floods of water start pouring down city streets. It's like a mini tsunami, which takes some fancy footwork to get around. Uugghhh.


3. News Reports
Maybe it's me, but growing up in Saskatoon THEN in Ottawa I'm no stranger to bad weather. But here, if it's gonna rain, you're gonna hear about it. And not just in passing ("Oh and we'll see some showers today"). No no. It's like going to def con level 4. Sirens, red alerts. It's like the weatherman turns into an army general, preparing his troops to go into battle. Man, I can't wait to see when it snows. Teehheeee.


2. Time
If it's raining you can bet that EVERYTHING will be late. People coming to work, subways, car services you name it. But the cool thing is, no one really gets too anxious about it. After all, it IS raining!

1. Staying Inside
I know, I'm lame, but staying in when it's all crap outside is the absolute best thing in the world. Especially when you get to enjoy it with someone grand (Miss ya Rico!) Pop some popcorn, open up your latest NetFlix envelope and let the storm clouds pass.

Hope the weather is great where you are. Stay warm.
LisaC