I've been here

Wait. Hang on. I'm literally having to count the months....

Five months - Just five months? It feels like five years! GAH!

Resuming:

I've been here five months. Just a reminder that this is Seattle; the Rainy City.

It does rain here! Daily? Well, I've only been here through summer so far, and it did rain often, but not daily. And you know what? Rain in Seattle doesn't always mean the clouds are belching out, big, fat raindrops at a downpour rate of 90 miles and hour like I am used to in Texas. The rain seems to sigh its way out of the clouds, dropping down like it's a gift to mankind and we should look at it with joy and maybe sing to it. I don't know.

I think I got carried away there... wow... sorry.

Rain.
Yes, it does rain - supposedly everyday in fall and winter. Again, this is all new to me and not something I have fully experienced, BUT, I wanted to share the tips I have learned about navigating in the rain via trial and error. Please enjoy my hilarious tale of how to survive the rainy days - according to Scout.

Umbrellas are okay, however, not everyone chooses to use them.

For whatever reason, Seattle has a reputation for wanting to be too cool for umbrellas and no one likes to walk around the city with them. I think that is a load of crap.
Image isn't everything, and being dry feels more important to me than looking cool without an umbrella. Not everyone shares this sentiment, and whatever, they can continue being too cool.
I myself, don't actually own an umbrella. So I prance about town without one, often looking half drowned. It's not a cool factor, simply an "I allot my funds elsewhere - like groceries" factor.

Don't step on these!

NOOB STORY:
Once, it rained early before I headed to work, but stopped pouring by the time I had to walk the mile downhill to the beanery. One of these shiny metal death traps was on a hill. I made the mistake of wearing treadless shoes (looking at you, Nike Vans knock offs) as I made the hike to work. I stepped on one of these suckers and my shoes changed their mind about walking at a normal, human pace and instead decided sledding/skiing would be an AWESOME idea.
I slid the two feet of this metal killing machine and my knees met the concrete as my shoes halted at the gravel after the slick metal. I hopped back up, completely stunned.

WHO DOES THAT TO PEOPLE?
WHO PUTS A SLIPPERY, SHINY METAL THING ON A BUSY SIDEWALK IN A CITY WHERE IT RAINS ALWAYS?
WHAT ANIMAL THOUGHT THIS WAS OKAY!

I go to work, and announce my story - to NO ONES surprise. In fact, all I got out was "I tripped on my way to work walking down the hill!" and one girl chimes in "Oh, did you slip on the metal things?"

Go ahead. Steal my storytelling thunder - jerk.

I'm kidding.

BUT OBVIOUSLY this is quite possibly an epidemic in Seattle! Countless people could be tripping on the daily because some animal thought it was a good idea to put these metal death traps around. GAH!

Lesson learned. Watch your step.

Tree tunnels = extra rain

The leaves catch rain like little buckets and then dump the rain on you when they can't take any more rain. This means when it is raining, the leaves fill up extra fast so they are constantly filling and dumping the drops on your head. It's like double the rain on your head when you walk under a tree tunnel like this.

Sometimes, your raincoat can only take so much.

Same with your shoes.

My rain coat might not actually be an official rain coat. I'm not sure. It does the job and it has a hood. What more could I need?
Less over saturation. That's what more I could need.

My little jacket (possible rain jacket) does well at keeping rain OFF of me, but can kinda get over saturated and then it is crap and is wet for too long (wet only on the outside, mind you) but, it makes the part that touches my skin cold. I can deal with cold - it's the constant state of sorta-damp that I am not okay with. That and the fact that it takes forever to dry!

Bottom line: I think it might be crap and not actually be a REAL rain coat. The jury is still out, and I'm not planning on buying a different one at this point.

Reading books with coffee at a coffee shop is the best rainy day activity.

Soooo.... Problem. Rainy days make me not want to do ANYTHING.
Not a huge deal?

WRONG.

This is Seattle and it sorta rains a lot. I CANNOT let rain ruin every day of my life.
Nope Nope Nope.
I have GOT to learn to get things done in the rain!

If you have tips on being productive even on rainy days, SOS help me out!

That's all I've got! Enjoy!

Scout's Guide to Rainy Days in Seattle