-^-for posterity-^-

the sky was grey and looked as if it could fall at any moment. looking out my window, in my air-conditioned room, i watched the rain fall. slow suicide. it felt like i was at home on a cold autumn night. outside everything seemed to be moving slowly; weighted down by the rain.

outside felt nothing like pennsylvania in the fall. it felt like you were holding your head above a boiling pot of water. the humidity and moisture creep into your pores and sweat runs down your face like tears.

on days like this, the weather controls the mood. that is, if you allow it to. it’s when there’s time to stare at the clouds and notice that they are all hanging a bit lower than normal. when you watch traffic flow by and only hear the hissing noise that tires make on wet roads. when you can never dry off.

people drive their motorcycles covered in ponchos. they drape them over the front of their bike and only their faces and lower legs get wet. they all should have been miserable but seemed to be driving with the same irrational ambition. i stood inside the yokohama tire dealership talking to the ladies. they were also being irrational. irrationally happy. they seemed to be unaffected by this ubiquitous rain. a rain so constant that it pounded its way into your head.

it was also a cleansing rain, i’m sure. i didn’t really notice.

it ended after i ate bun rieu. it’s a strange soup full of all sorts of oddities. some shellfish, some processed pork and some gelatinized pig’s blood. it was tasty but only because i loaded it with chilies. i left and the sky was clear and dark. i did my penance and the rain gods let up. it was as if i atoned for my attitude and was given a new lease on life.

now i’m able to celebrate again. i celebrate the republicans controlling the house, senate and presidency. i celebrate being the richest person here even though i’m a volunteer. i celebrate the heat of the day for cleansing me. i celebrate sarcasm.