Rain in Los Angeles?

The stereotype is that here in LA, it never rains. Surprise, surprise, the stereotype is nearly 100% accurate (as many stereotypes are). Today and the past few days it's actually been raining here. This is the first rain beyond a drizzle that we've had in about ten months. At that point, it was much like it is now. Three days of pretty heavy rain (by LA's standards) and for about two days after, the air actually smells good. After that, the smog returns.

What bugs me as a former east-coaster (I'm an non-native Angeleno of ten years) is how friggin' moronic many natives get when the rain comes. When it starts to get cold--like in the low sixties, suddenly, it's parka-time. When it actually starts to rain, the smart angelenos actually continue to dress warmly while the majority of LA natives decide it won't rain for long and go out in T-shirts and shorts. Tonight at the boba house, after three days of rain, I saw a woman dressed in a sweater and pants throw a scarf around her neck and wander out into literal sheets of windy rain. Another guy literally had on nothing but those knee-length shorts and a tight muscle-T-shirt but had an umbrella in his hand--thank God he was prepared for the weather!! He won't get wet at ALL when he goes out there! Whew!

Of course, I was prepared for my trip home from the boba house, and yet, I STILL got drenched. It was raining so hard, water was pooling in the crack between the top of my computer bag and my back--the pool got so big, it somehow beat my water resistant Starter jacket and got my back sopping wet. If that wasn't enough, the water flowed around one of the seams of my computer bag and then dripped onto my ass, which was not protected by anything water-resistant. So, by the time I finished the twenty minute walk home, my feet were sopping, my back and ass were sopping and I was simply glad I wasn't one of those stupid Angelenos that went out with just an umbrella for protection against the elements.

Take it from one who has graduated from four years of living in the city of Syracuse where it rains profusely--it's easier to carry a rain coat and umbrella on a day that suddenly turns sunny than to fight off a cold because you're weak-ass-LA-based-imune-system can't handle a little wet, cold weather... hang on, gotta sneeze. Damn it! I'm out of Kleenex...

Honey, where'd you put the nyquil?

Rain in Los Angeles...PAH!