Arizona Monsoon Rains

We had a great rain storm start up this afternoon while I was at work - including an emergency flooding warning on the radio. It was impressive enough that the power was flickering in and out. At one point it was bad enough that I actually had to shut down my office computer. This particular computer is crappy enough that it's perpetually on the verge of just dying, so a lightning strike would probably would have caused it to explode! So, I ended up spending a little over an hour trying to get work done without a computer. All kinds of fun.

The drive home was . . . interesting. First, there was a traffic light out and a lone (very wet) police officer trying to help traffic through. Poor guy, I do not envy him. While mostly uneventful, the rest of the drive was a pain simply because it took so long. Under normal rush-hour conditions, it takes me about 20-30 minutes to get home. Today, it was almost an hour! But, I'm actually willing to accept this because it means that people were driving reasonable speeds, given the conditions. Well, most people anyway. There was one guy who insisted on driving well above the speed limit - a speed which is based on good driving conditions, not rain and flooded roads. And, of course, he hit a very large puddle in the middle of the road right as he was passing me, spending a small title wave over the hood, windshield, driver's side window of my truck. At least I saw him coming up from behind and was prepared, and luckily there was no one to my left. So I simply slowed down, sped up my wipers, and let him go ahead of me. That way, if he were to get in an accident, at least it wouldn't be with me!

After that, it was just slow going until I reached my apartment complex. And found the parking lot one giant lake. Even around the edges where I park, the water was at least six inches deep. And me wearing business shoes, too. Had I been wearing my normal hiking boots or my shit-kickers, there wouldn't have been any problem. But no, I have to go and try to look professional. At least I was able to park near a curb, so I only had to get one foot wet. I just hope my shoe is all the way dry by tomorrow morning.

And you know what? I'm not pissed, angry, or annoyed! I'm actually quite pleased - because it rained!