Rain Like Snow

There was expected to be a crazy amount of rain today. Apparently much of it is still to come. Watching the weather for tomorrow, the map of the area showed rain in inches. The storm is to be worse the further you get from the city. The Philadelphia area is expected to get over 2 inches of rain. The more immediate suburbs are expected to see 3-5 inches, and the next layer 6-10. These numbers look more like a prediction of snow fall. I don't remember the exact ratio of snow-rain but I believe its 3 or 4 times the amount meaning that if this were a snow fall it would be a blizzard.

After an interesting day which caused me to work from home, I spent some time working out a list of everything I need to accomplish tomorrow. At the end of said newscast the anchor made sure to mention SEPTA. I had already predicted problems to a friend in jest but apparently this is no joke. The Paoli/Thorndale line is already suspended. While SEPTA has said they expect it to be running in the morning, they also said that several other lines are expected to be effected by the storm. The anchor ended the segment by saying, "If you typically utilize the Regional Rail to get to work, you should consider other options." Because I am without a car (which I hope to explain tomorrow) I worked out a way to get a ride to the train. Now that might not even be useful.

I am crossing my fingers that tomorrow when I wake up, like so many times as a child I found that no snow even fell by the next morning, the sun will be out and the streets will be dry.

Because I Didn't Learn My Lesson The First Time (Nor The Second)

When I volunteered at the daycare there was a day where we were supposed to go on a field trip to see How To Train Your Dragon. I wrote about this day a while back. In the end I walked 30 minutes through an incredible downpour only to be told the field trip was canceled. I sat indoors in the air conditioning, dripping wet for the next few hours. I had to distance myself from the kids because I didn't want any of them getting wet from leaning on me or anything.

Today the Philadelphia area awoke to a similar storm. I was considering, on my drive to the train station, to drive in. The walk through the train station parking lot takes a good 5-7 minutes. Then its another 10 or so from Suburban Station to the office. In this kind of rain, it only takes a minute to have you soaked through.

Ultimately, I stuck with my normal routine. The rain was coming down so hard while I was driving that visibility was almost 0. I was literally following brake lights to stay on the road. I realized that driving in those conditions was far too dangerous. It made more sense to take the train and brave the rain.

When I got to the station the rain slowed enough that I was barely wet from my walk. The same went for my walk from the train station to work. I was definitely wet, and wished I had an umbrella, but I had made it to work. Then, looking at the calendar, I realized that we had a birthday. I was told when I was hired that we celebrate birthdays by bringing in bagels to the nearest lab meeting. Two days ago one of the grad students had a birthday. I felt way too guilty about using the rain as my excuse for not getting them. I could have picked them up in Suburban. The fact was, I forgot to check.

I, with an RA, headed back out into the rain to get the bagels. As if the lesson from the field trip of "know when to call it quits" / "sometimes its not worth it" was not enough and the fact that I had gotten lucky that just as I got out of my car, and off the train, the rain slowed, I opened the doors and trudged out into the rain. Guess what - the skies opened up about a block away. I spent the rest of the day cold and wet. My jacket was still wet when I got home from work as were my shoes and socks. My shirt was soaked through despite having had a coat on.

I think that will be the last time I try fighting mother nature, especially for something that is probably not worth it. Either that or I should bring a change of clothes with me on bad weather days, just in case.

Ignore The Weather

Sometimes you just have to forgo. Today, my sisters and a close friend came to visit. They are here for 2 days, and the two worst days NY has seen in the past 10-14 days. We were especially spoiled after last weekend and the start of this week. As this weekend approached and the forecast was telling nothing but bad news, there were brief talks of trying another weekend. Ultimately it was deicded that, despite the bad weather, this was the most convenient weekend.

Sure, there was a lot I wanted to do that was 100% dependant on good weather like walking High Line Park, eating lunch in Union Square, walking the Brooklyn Bridge and spending some down time in Battery Park, but you do what you can. Today we hit a bunch of places and were in the city, and on the go from 1 pm until 11 pm. Fortunately for us, not until we reached the final part of our night - searching for a restaurant for dinner, as well as the trip home - did we really battle the elements.

Tomorrow is looking to be a bit worse, but after spending a few hours online we came up with a few options, keeping in mind the volume of people in the city on a Saturday and that many will be looking for similar indoor activities. Hopefully something works out, and if not, we already have lunch reservations in the city, and the plan to have some quality down time in my home, capping the weekend off with a trip to Arthur Avenue for Little Italy before heading to Penn Station.

Highlight of the day was the boardwalk at Southstreet Seaport overlooking the river with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. They really loved it - everyone had their cameras out taking pictures. If you haven't been to this area I would check it out - the mall/shops combined with the restaurants are all great entertainment in an area with such an impressive view as this.