Rain Storm
Posted by Stuart at 02:35 PM on January 13, 2004I woke up this morning to bright and relatively cool and clear skies, and I took it as a good omen. The first two weeks of the year have been... well... I am not sure what the right word is. Challenging? Difficult? Not that 2004 has been bad, per se, but, I have to admit I have struggled a bit.
First I was fighting off jet-lag after a fun, but stressful 2-week vacation to the US. Then, the New Year started and I had to finish up grading final exams from last semester at the same time that the new semester was starting. Plus, I am preparing for my new gig as a teacher at an online university. On top of all of that, I have been a little sick lately. I'm not sure what it is, but I haven't really been feeling myself since I returned. Are these the reasons why, on January 13, I am posting my first website entry of the new year? Perhaps.
But last night, after running about 3 kilometers on the treadmill at the gym, I was soaking my tired legs in the hotel's outdoor jacuzzi when it started to rain. Luckily, there was a covering above my head that kept most of the cold rain off me. It rained harder and harder and harder while I just sat there and marvelled at the scene. Hot steam, glowing from the yellow underwater lamps, was rising to meet the cold rainy mist glowing from the white hotel spotlights. The hot steam and cold mist mixed and swirled around me as the wind blew. It was raining so hard at one point that the water pouring down the the side of the hotel turned the building into a 30-story-gold-and-silver-metal nam tok.
The rain continued through the night, washing away a layer or two of grime off the buildings and off my New Year. Here's a toast to the remaining 50 weeks of the year!
