November 2, 2010-What a Storm!

     Out here on the atoll, we don't experience much in the way of storms. We are too near the equator to get the massive hurricanes, tropical cyclones, and typhoon type weather that our not so close neighbors of Guam and Japan experience frequently, but we do get plenty of rain and wind.  Tonight was a doozie! I ended up staying at work a little later than expected, and when I got ready to head out to a friend's house for dinner, the drops were already coming down heavy and sideways because of the wind.  Luckily, I had a rain coat in my office. I think I finally have enough rain gear strategically kept at my office, my classroom (which I still used periodically), and my home to get me through any rainy season here, and it's only taken me 13+ years to make that happen. :)  Anyway, as I left, knowing I didn't have far to go, I zipped and cinched up my lightweight green jacket to keep my clothes and purse safe and sound from the rain. I put my dressy black flip flops in my bike burley with my empty coffee cup from home because it was okay if they got wet, but I didn't want any muddy puddles splashing on my shoes, and I took off.  As the diagonal rain and wind pushed me across the road, I held on tight to my handlebars and ducked my head against the pelting wetness.  I didn't have to really worry about traffic because no one else was silly enough to get on their bikes and go somewhere in this storm.  When I arrived at my friend's house, she couldn't believe I wasn't soaked, and she was glad I made it over okay. We enjoyed catching up on life, eating a delicious Greek salad and homemade salsa. (This is my friend who loves to cook and whose food I love to eat!) In between, I played with her kids, whom I've known all their lives, and in some ways, are like my own, and she put them to bed, and we chatted some more.  Before we knew it, time flew by, and it was after 10, and time to hit the sack. The only problem is that the rain and wind was still just as fierce as it was when I arrived 4 hours earlier! What a storm! "Well," I said, "I must go," so I donned my now very wet green raincoat and headed out again, this time to home and a nice, warm bed with a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate to send me off into dream land.  The rain may be an inconvenience at times, especially because we don't have cars and garages to stay dry from the elements, but as my mom tells me, when we are discussing the island's weather, "as least it's warm rain."  I have to agree that I'm pretty lucky to live on a tropical island without all the major life threatening storms.  If the diagonal rain and winds, which can push you across the road on your bike, is all I have to worry about, I don't mind. It's all part of life on an atoll.