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You can stand under my umbrella
Tuesday, 29 November 2011 22:00So although it was absolutely golden and gorgeous yesterday, it's been raining a whole lot lately.
Some of my friends, mostly the Californians, are often at pains to send me that one Oatmeal comic. Some of them send it to me repeatedly, every so often, I think just to hear me growl. I tend to have two reactions to this (and to people bitching about the rain in general), one of which is "look, that's actually not true" and other of which is less coherent but is usually along the lines of "Jesus Christ, if rain makes you actually wish for death, then why the fuck do you live here? GO LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE or SHUT UP ALREADY."
*sigh*
Then I remind myself there are lots of reasons why people can't move out of the city where they live even if they want to. Finances, school, family, spouses, job, lack of job, being under eighteen and forced to live wherever your parents want to (which was how I found myself in southern California for a few years), etc. So instead, to stop growling and add something a little more pleasant to the world, I decided to list for you the reasons why I love the rain!
(Don't get me wrong. I love the sunshine too. Ask my close friends; I'm definitely a solar-powered vixy. How do I manage to be a solar-powered vixy while living in Seattle, you may ask? Because it doesn't actually rain as goddamned often as that. But I digress!)
Why I love the rain! by Vixy, age 40.
* The scent. Oh my heaven, the scent. Or rather, the variety of scents. The baked dusty smell of summer rain falling on really hot pavement. The green mysterious smell of spring rain falling hard. The washed-clean early-morning smell when it's just stopped raining and everything's still wet. The wet wood and gasoline smell when it rains down by the lake on the docks. Wet pine needles. Wet spring flowers. Even the mud, sometimes. (And its cousin, the smell of snow on the air when it's wet out and really cold. I don't know how else to describe it when it's not snowing but the air smells like snow, but once you've smelled it you always know it.)
* Watching it fall. Just watching it against the evergreens. When I was little I could spend just hours curled up in the big green rocking armchair, watching the rain. It's beautiful and quiet and contemplative.
* The sounds! Oh there's nothing like the sound of heavy rain against windows. Especially when it's windy. I've always found that thrilling. But even when it's a calm rain, it's soothing and delicious. Hearing that sound is perfect when curled up with a book or working on an art project or staying up late when everyone else in the house is asleep. Or that particuar whoosshhhh of cars driving by on wet pavement. And oh, there's nothing like making love to the sound of heavy rain.
* Summer rain, when it's warm enough to have the sliding back doors open (when I had such a thing). The sound and the sight of it falling combine and it's like you have your own private room that's outside, like a sunroom with walls of water and light instead of glass, with the sound going "hushhhh."
* Umbrellas! I love umbrellas. I have many, of different pretty colors and fancy prints, and I want more. I love walking in the rain with umbrellas. I'll open my umbrella at the least excuse, even when it's not really raining hard enough to bother, just because I think they're neat. It's kind of that same feeling as with summer rain; it's like my own little portable private room. And again there's a particular sound that goes with it; it's like walking around inside a secret.
* The peace of it. Now, I love sunny days, but they always feel to me like I should be out! doing! exciting! things! Can't waste a beautiful sunny day! For the most part I hate going to movies during the day, or watching movies or TV during the day, because I hate wasting daylight. But not if it's raining. If it's raining out, then curling up on the couch watching old movies feels justified. Rain makes staying in feel just right.
* Playing in it! Staying indoors is all very well, but playing in the rain is FUN! If you never knew the joy of splashing around in puddles or damming up curbside gutters as a kid, then you have my pity.
* Walking in it. Look, I don't care how cheesy the love songs are. Walking hand in hand with someone in the rain, running for a bus or kissing in a half-sheltered doorway... hey, sometimes things are tropes for a reason.
* Feeling it on my face. There's just a certain kind of chill... and there's something about laughing at it, in a defying-the-gods kind of way. If you're ever caught in the rain, try it sometime. Instead of hunching over and hiding your head, try turning your face upwards, feeling it falling in your ace, and laughing. Just trust me.
* The way everything shines. Again, some things appear in songs with good reason.
* Seeing it from far away. When it's not raining where you are and you can see far enough to see a rainstorm in the distance, looking like someone took their paintbrush and smeared the clouds downwards... that's just one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen.
* Sun against rain. Also one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. Where I live, sometimes we get bright golden sunshine against a backdrop of deep charcoal-grey come-to-Mordor clouds. It is the coolest-looking thing ever. Even better than that, sometimes we get bright golden sunshine while it's raining hard. Usually when sunset is sneaking sideways under the cloud layer. Every drop lights up and it's like the sky's on fire.
* The way it makes everything green green GREEN! I've lived where most everything was dusty brown with a touch of green, when it wasn't on fire. I prefer to live where most everything is green and growing. Years ago an old friend put it best; this place *just* *says* *life*.
...heh. Appropriately, that's thirteen things. :D (Though some of those things are actually a whole bunch of things listed together.) And I'm sure there's more. But I've spent the last couple of days pondering what to include, and these are the things I've been daydreaming about mostly while falling asleep.
I'd love for everyone to love my city as much as I do. But if you can't, I hope you find a city that you love as much as I love mine.
See you around. :)
Some of my friends, mostly the Californians, are often at pains to send me that one Oatmeal comic. Some of them send it to me repeatedly, every so often, I think just to hear me growl. I tend to have two reactions to this (and to people bitching about the rain in general), one of which is "look, that's actually not true" and other of which is less coherent but is usually along the lines of "Jesus Christ, if rain makes you actually wish for death, then why the fuck do you live here? GO LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE or SHUT UP ALREADY."
*sigh*
Then I remind myself there are lots of reasons why people can't move out of the city where they live even if they want to. Finances, school, family, spouses, job, lack of job, being under eighteen and forced to live wherever your parents want to (which was how I found myself in southern California for a few years), etc. So instead, to stop growling and add something a little more pleasant to the world, I decided to list for you the reasons why I love the rain!
(Don't get me wrong. I love the sunshine too. Ask my close friends; I'm definitely a solar-powered vixy. How do I manage to be a solar-powered vixy while living in Seattle, you may ask? Because it doesn't actually rain as goddamned often as that. But I digress!)
Why I love the rain! by Vixy, age 40.
* The scent. Oh my heaven, the scent. Or rather, the variety of scents. The baked dusty smell of summer rain falling on really hot pavement. The green mysterious smell of spring rain falling hard. The washed-clean early-morning smell when it's just stopped raining and everything's still wet. The wet wood and gasoline smell when it rains down by the lake on the docks. Wet pine needles. Wet spring flowers. Even the mud, sometimes. (And its cousin, the smell of snow on the air when it's wet out and really cold. I don't know how else to describe it when it's not snowing but the air smells like snow, but once you've smelled it you always know it.)
* Watching it fall. Just watching it against the evergreens. When I was little I could spend just hours curled up in the big green rocking armchair, watching the rain. It's beautiful and quiet and contemplative.
* The sounds! Oh there's nothing like the sound of heavy rain against windows. Especially when it's windy. I've always found that thrilling. But even when it's a calm rain, it's soothing and delicious. Hearing that sound is perfect when curled up with a book or working on an art project or staying up late when everyone else in the house is asleep. Or that particuar whoosshhhh of cars driving by on wet pavement. And oh, there's nothing like making love to the sound of heavy rain.
* Summer rain, when it's warm enough to have the sliding back doors open (when I had such a thing). The sound and the sight of it falling combine and it's like you have your own private room that's outside, like a sunroom with walls of water and light instead of glass, with the sound going "hushhhh."
* Umbrellas! I love umbrellas. I have many, of different pretty colors and fancy prints, and I want more. I love walking in the rain with umbrellas. I'll open my umbrella at the least excuse, even when it's not really raining hard enough to bother, just because I think they're neat. It's kind of that same feeling as with summer rain; it's like my own little portable private room. And again there's a particular sound that goes with it; it's like walking around inside a secret.
* The peace of it. Now, I love sunny days, but they always feel to me like I should be out! doing! exciting! things! Can't waste a beautiful sunny day! For the most part I hate going to movies during the day, or watching movies or TV during the day, because I hate wasting daylight. But not if it's raining. If it's raining out, then curling up on the couch watching old movies feels justified. Rain makes staying in feel just right.
* Playing in it! Staying indoors is all very well, but playing in the rain is FUN! If you never knew the joy of splashing around in puddles or damming up curbside gutters as a kid, then you have my pity.
* Walking in it. Look, I don't care how cheesy the love songs are. Walking hand in hand with someone in the rain, running for a bus or kissing in a half-sheltered doorway... hey, sometimes things are tropes for a reason.
* Feeling it on my face. There's just a certain kind of chill... and there's something about laughing at it, in a defying-the-gods kind of way. If you're ever caught in the rain, try it sometime. Instead of hunching over and hiding your head, try turning your face upwards, feeling it falling in your ace, and laughing. Just trust me.
* The way everything shines. Again, some things appear in songs with good reason.
* Seeing it from far away. When it's not raining where you are and you can see far enough to see a rainstorm in the distance, looking like someone took their paintbrush and smeared the clouds downwards... that's just one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen.
* Sun against rain. Also one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. Where I live, sometimes we get bright golden sunshine against a backdrop of deep charcoal-grey come-to-Mordor clouds. It is the coolest-looking thing ever. Even better than that, sometimes we get bright golden sunshine while it's raining hard. Usually when sunset is sneaking sideways under the cloud layer. Every drop lights up and it's like the sky's on fire.
* The way it makes everything green green GREEN! I've lived where most everything was dusty brown with a touch of green, when it wasn't on fire. I prefer to live where most everything is green and growing. Years ago an old friend put it best; this place *just* *says* *life*.
...heh. Appropriately, that's thirteen things. :D (Though some of those things are actually a whole bunch of things listed together.) And I'm sure there's more. But I've spent the last couple of days pondering what to include, and these are the things I've been daydreaming about mostly while falling asleep.
I'd love for everyone to love my city as much as I do. But if you can't, I hope you find a city that you love as much as I love mine.
See you around. :)
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