Rain, Rain, Go the Fuck Away

I know rain is good for the earth. I learned about the water cycle in grade school. I know we're finally getting back in stride with our average yearly rainfall after a shortfall earlier in the year. I'm still about damned tired of all this foul-ass weather. Rain has been pounding the area nonstop for 3 or 4 days, combined with high winds and chilly temperatures. The worst thing about weather like this is that I have to go out in it. I have to get my ass up at 7:30am, put on my rain gear, and schlep to my cubicle in the rain and cold, then back again in the 5:30 blackness. Let me tell you how much fun it is to drive home in the rain, in the dark, on well-worn roads. The painted lines may as well be imaginary. On days like this I just want to go back to sleep until 10 and stay in my bedclothes all day, eating soup and popcorn and slurping hot chocolate while snuggled up on the couch watching the idiot box.

These blustery days have also coincided with an effort to rearrange my car's entertainment-related gadgetry in time for the drive to the RenFest this weekend. Ever try doing stuff to your car when it's raining and you don't have a garage? It sucks, dear reader, it powerful sucks. Especially when you're dashing back & forth between the car and your toolbox upstairs because you keep needing shit. Fuck, I forgot the electrical tape! Where the fuck did I put the Velcro? Anyway, I purchased a cheap but decent LCD screen on ebay, plus an AV cable for my iPod. I'm putting the screen where the stereo was (right below the windshield), and removed the ashtray down below, where I'm putting the stereo. I couldn't get hold of a universal mounting bracket right away, so for now the stereo is resting on my old mobile laptop mount. Still, I'll be able to play movies on long trips. I opted not to install a DVD player because messing with DVDs would be too much of a hassle. My iPod has scores of TV shows and movies already on it. Under the stereo I'll mount my little CB radio, mostly to have an extra gadget that looks cool. The final result should look very neat and tidy, with very little visible wiring. As much as I love the '90s, I can't help but love today's technology. Ten years ago, who would have dreamed that we'd be able to carry around a full library of music, TV, and movies in a device no bigger than a deck of cards, and play them on a screen in the dashboard?

I wish I had tonight to finish up, but I'm going to a concert. I foolishly entered an office raffle for free tickets and won. It's a performer that my wife and I don't dislike but neither of us is fanatical about. The weather is not an encouraging factor either. I would have given them up but I've done that twice before due to scheduling conflicts and it would annoy the person who doles out the tickets, so I'm stuck. I can't blow it off or pass along the tickets to a friend because there's a possibility that word will get back to the office and piss off the other people who entered the raffle. At least we get access to the VIP lounge where there will be free food of a very unhealthy variety (I believe slider burgers are among the offerings). At this point I'd really rather go home, finish up the stuff in my car, and get in my PJs and watch TV while the rain hammers down outside.