Raining Dogs

It's been raining here for days. However, I've discovered I like the Taipei version of rain for two good reasons. First, the rain is light, so it feels almost like snow and does not get you soaking wet, even if you forget your umbrella. Second, there is no grass (at least not outside of the small square surrounding the trees implanted in the pavement). So when it rains, the sidewalks are worm-free. This was the main reason I hated the rain in Indiana – it meant unbelievably large earthworms covered the sidewalks, and you couldn't go from building to building without squishing them. Well, those are my feelings on rain.

I was walking home in the aforementioned rain, when I saw the funniest sight. To preface, I don't like dogs, in fact, I borderline hate them. However, I firmly believe if one must have a dog, one should follow the Asian tradition of treating the dog as a doll. Tonight was an excellent example. I passed a young woman walking her three dogs. Each dog was decked out in a Burberry rain jacket, complete with clear plastic shield to cover their face. It was quite the sight, I wished I had my camera (it's on loan to J. for her drama class).

One other thing I learned tonight, from my tutee. I was born in 1982, so I always thought I was the Year of the Dog. Turns out, if you're born at the beginning of the year, you are still part of the last year (you know how Chinese New Year comes late Jan. early Feb). So I technically fall under 1981 and the year of the Rooster. Well, the year of the Rooster is coming up in less than a month, so I thought "Good, that must be special or lucky or something?" Turns out that the Year of the Rooster is especially bad for people who were born in the year of the Rooster. It doesn't seem right to be. Good thing I don't follow the Chinese calendar, eh?

I am excited about tomorrow for a number of reasons: it's my birthday, it's payday, there's an Alias on at 6am I haven't seen (and yes, I feel it's worth getting up an hour early to watch), I have a little pile of presents from my parents sitting on my chair, and thank goodness – it's Friday! It should be a lovely day overall - although I'm 99% sure it will be a rainy one! At least it's 15 C not -15 C!