rainy season?

hi all,

it's been pouring buckets over the last four days or so... you just get used to feeling damp most of the time. i used to hate umbrellas, i hated carrying them, i hated walking on the sidewalk when everyone had them, but i think i've finally come around. this is more of a necessity here than other places i've lived in the past though, so it should come as no surprise to me. you all know the experience of standing on a porch in a summer thunderstorm and seeing spouts of rain sheet off the roof of the porch? ...here you get the same effect even though you're just standing under a small umbrella; water pours down all around you in a thin veil, reminiscent of a small garden fountain. people ride their bikes with umbrellas in hand, and in some cases you can see two people on one bike both holding umbrellas. i saw this just last night, and was kicking myself for not having my camera with me, since the image looked like something right out of a shigeki kuroda etching.

at this point, i only have five more weeks here in taipei and i am really trying to make the most of it. i've been thinking so much about my work that last night's dream was more a continuation of my research than a respite from it... one that you awake from with a start and unexpectedly blurt out, "synformal-axial-surface!". such is grad-school though... right?

it looks like the weather might improve for a couple of days... that last system is blowing out to sea and the air behind it looks pretty dry, maybe that will add to my motivation a little.

~t