Boca Raton is taking a bit of a beating from Hurricane Ike. I had to work in the library this morning, so I had to venture out into the rain. There was some flooding on the sides of streets the same as always after hours of rain, but the campus is where I saw the real flooding. I came through the Potomac gate so I could park in the lot on the left (it usually has a spot or two open). I drove through the gate, started to enter the parking lot and stopped. There was an SUV in front of me with it’s tires half covered in water. My little bitty Chevy Cavalier was not going to make it through that lot unscathed, so I put the car in reverse and backed out.

Next, I thought I would try the ASSAF parking lot. I started to drive into it and noticed all of the puddles and potholes sprinkling the mulch lot. And I began to worry. What if my little bitty car gets stuck in one of these potholes? That would be so embarrassing and frustrating because not only is it pouring rain, but I would be stuck in it, and countless other people would be stuck in it because my car would be blocking there cars. But I didn’t get stuck. Instead, someone in another SUV drove around the opposite side of the lot and was facing me. Neither of us could move forward, because there is only enough space for one car at a time. We were in a quandary. I had very little space (and am not experienced with backin up any further than it takes to get out of a parking spot), so I was very worried about backing up. And getting stuck. The lady in her car came out with an umbrella and said that she had tried to reverse, but I guess because of the puddles, her car wouldn’t do it. So I persevered and made my way safely out of the lot, and drove to yet another parking lot. I was successful in that final attempt, and my only dilemma from that point was whether or not I should brave the rain….

I arrived in Boca Raton last night at 6:00 pm. Trying to get here was a disaster! I actually left Louisiana (where I was for my friend’s wedding) on Saturday, August 16th. When I got to about Jackson, Mississippi, my car stopped accelerating. It refused to move into 4th gear, so I was going down the highway at 40mph trying to get to an exit. I started calling everyone in my family and everyone I know in Louisiana, trying to get ideas about what to do. I didn’t know if I should call a tow or have someone pick me up.

Fortunately, my sister knew someone (our friend Phillip) who knew someone who had a trailer. Phillip drove all the way to Jackson, picked up me and my car, and drove me back to Louisiana. I stayed with me for the next week while we tried to figure out what was wrong with my car and how to fix it. It turns out that running over that piece of metal in Virginia had done more damage than I thought. It dented my catilitic converter so badly that it was stopped up, and that was causing my lack of acceleration.

Again, I was fortunate in that Phillip and one of his friends were able to fix my car, and I didn’t have to have it taken to a garage. The same night, I was taking my sister home, and when I tried to turn off my car, it wouldn’t shut off. I pulled the key out of the ignition, and it still wouldn’t go off. I called Phillip, and he unplugged the battery…. The car was still on. He finally had to unplug a cylinder to get it to shut down. We took it to a Chevy dealer soon after for them to fix it. The car would not do it for them. It worked perfectly fine. We were all so frustrated with my car by this time. I decided to wait a few days to see if it would act up again, but it didn’t.

But by the time it was fixed and running smoothly (well, mostly smoothly–a little louder), Hurricane Faye was hovering over South Florida. Everyone thought it was best if I didn’t leave right away.  So I stayed and hung out with people that I’ve known for years, but haven’t seen in a long time (I’ll blog more about them soon).

So, finally, everything was working and Faye had subsided a bit. I decided I would leave again on Tuesday, August 26th. I left at 9 am and I soon as I got down the street, I got a phone call from Phillip. He said to turn around; there was a pipe hanging from the bottom of my car and he saw it as I pulled out of the driveway. So I came back, he took it somewhere and bolted the pipe up and I left around 12:30 with no further interruptions or disasters. I am so relieved that my car didn’t break down again somewhere that no one could help me. Now, I don’t have to worry about anything for a while except going back to work and moving onto campus (yay!) on the 6th.

Most people would agree with me that being used by someone is not something they aspire too. Most people likely avoid it at all costs. However, I would bet that most people have not been used in the same way I was used Friday…

I went to dinner with Kaileigh, Sam, and Mitch, and while we were there, the skies decided to open and pour down rain. I had come prepared (though not as prepared as I would have liked) and was wearing a hoody (my hair was nice and straight and I wanted to keep it that way). My friends were not. As it turns out, Sam did not need an umbrella or a hoody: he had me. Apparently, I double as an umbrella. He literally hauled me over his shoulder to keep him dry (not comfortable on a full stomach). He walked with me like that nearly all the way back to Old Lynn. Bumpy ride for me. Then, when he finally put me down, I was so unsteady from being bumped around that I nearly collapsed. But that wasn’t as important as the fact that I really did keep him mostly dry…

So like I said, not many people can say they’ve been used the way I have: as an umbrella. I can now officially say that.

The one drawback of having to ride a bike to work is that I’m at the mercy of the elements. If it’s blistering hot, I’m going to get really sweaty. If it’s raining, I’m going to get wet. I noticed last night while I was at work that it was raining. I wasn’t thrilled. But then I changed my mind-wouldn’t it be fun to ride my bike in the rain (maybe not safe-but fun)? I decided it would. Still, though, I couldn’t help staring out the windows and being torn. When I went outside to leave, the rain had stopped. I was simultaneously disappointed and happy.

But then…….when I got to Butts Road, it was raining! Not gently, either. So I got soaked on the way home and I couldn’t have been more ecstatic about it. Can you imagine what the people in their cars were thinking driving by some crazy girl on her bike in the rain mouthing the lyrics to the songs on her ipod? I can’t. When I got back to campus, I didn’t want to shower. I wanted to revel in my soaked state. There was, however, the threat of getting sick, so good sense won over and I took a hot shower.

But the incident kind of made me think that we’ve been socialized to dislike rain. I know when I was young I used to play in it all the time. But what does everyone do when it rains? They run for shelter. When you’re at school at recess and it rains, you have to go inside. Now, I understand that in the event of a thunderstorm it’s not safe, but rain itself isn’t harmful. I think over the years, it’s become sort of socially unacceptable to play in the rain. If you’re the only person not running to take cover under some building, people think you’re crazy. Even my friends sometimes think I’m crazy for wanting to play in it (though Aly did it with me once last year). For me, it’s kind of liberating playing in the rain. It brings back the inner child (even though, honestly, my inner child never grew up anyway). But I think people should play in the rain more often-give it a chance-because it’s more fun than trying to escape it.

Aly just came in soaked. I’m happy now!

Torrential downpours! I thought hurricane season was over. It has been raining so hard the past two days. There were thunderstorms last night. Aly tried to get pictures of the lightning, but I don’t think it worked too well. Kaileigh says it’s raining men and women and children and zoo animals outside. I got caught in it for a few minutes yesterday when I was walking back from the crush party. It wasn’t raining terribly hard, but my hair got pretty wet. It was actually the perfect kind of rain for playing in. Now, though, it’s the kind of rain (and wind) that makes you afraid that the palm tree right next to your dorm window is going to collapse. I have to admit, I secretly keep hoping my friends will get caught in the rain and come and see me dripping wet. It happened to Aly a couple of times last year and to me once last semester (I was wearing white pants at the time…not a good thing). So far, though, I haven’t seen it. I guess I’ll just have to keep waiting……

On Thursday night, I was actually able to go to one of the events for the Palm Beach Poetry Festival for free. It’s a week long event where national, published poets come and do readings and hold workshops. My friend Christina interned at the festival, and Brittany got a scholarship to go. I’ve always wanted to go, but one: I have no car to get there; and two: I can’t really afford it. Dr. Morgan was giving out some FREE tickets and Brittany said she would bring me there and back to campus when it was over-problems solved. I was really excited, especially since Spencer Reese, who came to Lynn back in November and spoke in my poetry class, was one of the readers for the event I had a ticket to attend. He and Lola Haskins read that night. There were so many people in the audience, many of them famous poets today. Three of them stand out for two different reasons: Campbell McGrath, with whom Brittany was taking her workshop, and C.K. Williams and Taylor Molly (I don’t know if I spelled his name right), because Brittany was a fan of them both. She actually introduced herself to Taylor Molly and acted like a lovesick teenager meeting her favorite actor. She’s so passionate about poetry, so it was fun to watch her in the midst of all the modern poets. I wish I had brought my camera so I could have taken pictures, but I forgot it. It was definitely a unique experience for me; I really hope that I can attend more of the events next year.

My poor roommate had the worst day! When she dropped me off at work today, it was raining sheets. She said it was barely possible to see in front her. Apparently, some idiot in front of her pulled to a complete halt on Glades for no reason. Aly had to slam her breaks and she spun out in the middle of the street. A cop saw the problem and asked if she was alright; he gave the other guy a ticket. So just when she thinks she’s free and clear, she’s driving onto campus and lightning strikes a tree right in front of her. It split one of the branches off, and it landed right in front of her car. She had to slam her breaks again. She said it took three security guards to move the branch out of the road. I was amazed when she told me. I guess if you look at it in an optimistic way, she had a very lucky day.

 For future reference for anyone reading this: Stay alert when it’s raining!!!