Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

It's raining sideways!

Last night was the first time in a few nights I slept through the entire time. Northern California has been experiencing continuous deluge of rain and wind since the end of December. 50 miles-an-hour winds and heavy rain (and hail!) keep waking me up from slumber. These are heavy storms through and through, and it’s not over yet: the forecast says we won’t see the end of it until the 20th. As of typing we are expecting another full day of rain and crazy winds. Floor advisory in effect for the afternoon hours.

I was lucky yesterday to have smarty moved my BMW M2 to my work’s covered parking garage. One of the perks of living so close to work is I can use the garage whenever I need to stash the car for relatively long term. Either when I go on vacation, or when I need to put the BMW away from harmful weather. For about $25 of my pre-tax dollars every month, it’s a convenience worth paying for, even though 95 percent of the time I don’t park any car at work.

Shoutout to the coworkers who have to navigate fell trees and blocked roads to get to work. At least they are dry and warm in their sealed vehicles. I have to walk the half mile to work in the elements. Thankfully the storm have held up thus far during my commute hours, though I’m definitely prepared to go to a full poncho setup. An umbrella with these winds would just be utterly useless.

Another thing to worry about during times of heavy rain is leaks and flooding to the home. We’ve been fortunately in that regard, though I’ve heard too many anecdotes about roofs needing repair. My supervisor’s garage got flooded, a nasty confluence of geography. His house is situated on a plot where water naturally accumulates when there’s lots of rain within a short period time. No prevention - the only thing to do is pump the water out.

Stay dry and safe, everyone. More to come, unfortunately.

Batten down the hatches

It’s funny how events repeat themselves. This time last year we were precautiously sent home from campus due to the raging omicron COVID variant. In 2023, we’ve also been sent home during the first week of January, but for a different reason. During New Years Eve, the San Francisco Bay Area experienced heavy rainfall, leading to multiple cases of flooding. Well, today marks the beginning of another round of storms. With the ground already saturated from the rain four days ago, the results are not going to be pretty.

Obviously it’s plenty safe to actually be on campus. It’s getting there and back that’s the problem. The commute today is going to suck really bad, so best for those with a long commute to stay home (my guy with a ferry ride across the bay is happy to not have to do that). San Francisco State is not the only campus to ask staff to work-from-home if possible the next few days. I’ve got friends at other universities in the area with the same directive. If you have the privilege to stay home, do so.

The real MVP during these times of severe weather are the folks who have to be outside. Shoutout to the mail carriers and package couriers still striving to get packages to us. Shoutout to the food delivery drivers getting food to us from restaurants. Shoutout to the first responders clearing road hazards and making sure things are as safe as possible. Modern society would not be possible without these heroes. The rest of us who Zoom’ed our way through the pandemic should count our lucky stars.

That said, I’m going to be watching the mayhem from the comfort of my room window this entire day. And praying nothing foul lands on and damages my car. 40 miles-an-hour winds are no joke!

The opinion of others

Finally - some rain!

Coming out of the shower last night and preparing for bed, I heard the sweet tapping of precipitation on the window panes. It seems we haven’t had rain all year - and we’re deep into our typical rainy season, so the cleanse is incredibly welcomed. Free car wash, everybody! It’s also blooming season, so there’s a ton of pollen blowing around. The exterior of my BMW M2 is an absolute mess. I’ll check later if it rained enough last night to sheet the dirt off.

The blooming cherry and plum blossom trees in the neighborhood sure are lovely. Only one week out of the whole year do we get to enjoy their stunning gifts. Afterwards, the dead petals get blown away, many of which land right on my car.

It’s a reminder just how much I don’t drive the M2. It’s always fascinating to see the week’s worth of dust accumulation on the windshield when I do use the car on the weekends. If I were a strictly rational person, I would have traded the BMW for something far less expensive to insure and own. But car enthusiasm is never rational. Heck, car buying in general is not purely logical. That’s why I seldom give advice to people on what to buy, because they’ll inevitably purchase what their heart is already set on. It doesn’t matter that car is objectively worse than I would recommend.

I wouldn’t say I’m too emotionally attached to the M2. Admittedly, it is nice to have a cool car that stands out amongst a sea of SUVs. It provides a sense of smugness. It’s not quite that rich guy in a Lamborghini, but it’s similar. A good portion of car enthusiasm is about peacocking, and buying a car for the sake of impressing other people. We shouldn’t care about the opinion of others, but we do it anyways. Look at what I have! This expensive piece of machinery is an outside representation of me.

This is why I can’t swap the M2 for a more economical car. I love the power, and everything outwardly that BMW M cars represent. Though I do use the turn signals when changing lanes…

Baby stay cool

Last week, we saw a string of unseasonably warm weather days here in San Francisco. Temperatures got into the mid to high 70s. It was sunny, dry, and kind of nice to be outside. The bad news is, we haven’t had any substantial rain since the end of autumn. It’s always disconcerting to see such excellent summer weather right in the middle of winter, what is suppose to be our wet season. At least it hasn’t been totally dry: the deluge of last October is absolutely hard-carrying our rain stats right now.

Anyways, San Francisco going through one of its few warm weather spells is when I can appreciate the fact my studio in-law rental is on the ground floor of my friend’s house. Physics being what it is - hot air rises - my place stays relatively cool no matter the outside temperature. Sometimes I actually have to remove layers when I leave home, always surprised at how hot it actually is outside.

Meanwhile, my friend who owns the house is sweating his butt off in his third-floor office, working from home. At least he’s got a portable air-conditioning unit. I left mine at my parents’ place. I don’t need it.

Walking distance to work and a mall with absolutely everything (got to have my Saturday morning McDonalds), a nice and quiet neighborhood, and the room stays cool year round: I really can’t ask for a more ideal place to live. Difficult to say whether it’s a long term solution, but for now I’m just enjoying every bit of it as much as possible. It'll be a sad day indeed if I ever go back to having to commute by car.

WFH on rainy days

The best days to work from home are the rainy days, when I am comfortably indoors with a hot cup of tea. The flowers are blooming this time of the year, so the view outside my window is rather lovely. The BMW M2 is getting a free car wash courtesy of the rain. The clouded skies means the sun isn’t shinning directly into my eyes during the afternoon. I have window shades, but I prefer to keep a view towards the outside.

Rainy days are great when you don’t have to go outside. One thing I didn’t calculate for when I moved closer to work is that I would have to walk through the rain to get to campus. Even the strongest umbrella cannot prevent the bottom half of my body from getting wet. The brief 10 minute walk is enough to completely soak the shoes. I really need a pair of rain boots, or shoes that are somewhat weatherproof.

The ultimate first world solution would to actually drive to work when it rains, even though I only live two longish blocks away. My parents would never dream of being so wasteful, but what’s the point of making money if not to make our lives more convenient? More so than the cost of gas, I’d be more worried about such a short trip having a negative effect on the engine. Advantage to electric vehicles: there aren’t any internal fluids to get up to temperature.

But there’s a problem: the distance from the school’s parking lot to the building where I work is precisely the same distance as that building from my home. I would literally gain nothing from driving. Perhaps those boots are indeed the way to go.

In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy working at home in front of the window on these rainy days. As the vaccines proliferate, pretty soon I’m going to have to say goodbye to this pandemic work lifestyle.

Love hate the rain

The weather in San Francisco has been properly cold these couple of days, and it’s been a few years since we’ve had such piercing temperatures. Massive apologies to the crowd living in the Midwest and Northeast that had just endured the polar vortex last week, but low 40’s might as well be freezing to us fragile San Franciscans.

We certainly pay for the privilege. Hashtag high cost of living.

There’s been a quite bit of rain, too, which is nice to see after years of drought conditions and two straight years of the worse wildfires to ever devastate California. If I were still on Facebook I’m sure I would be seeing acquaintances hitting the fresh powder up in the Sierras. That’s what dream weekends are made of.

Unfortunately for me, this latest batch of weather is wrecking havoc with my notion of a dream weekend: out driving the sports car I’ve only recently written the largest check ever for (not even remotely humble brag). The 991 GT3 comes with deliciously sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, but the wondrous adhesion only occurs during dry weather; in the wet - especially with standing water - those tires are downright treacherous. It also doesn’t do particularly well when it’s cold out.

A two thousand dollar set of tries that can only be driven in warm, dry weather. Because race car.

So when it’s raining like it has been in San Francisco, I simply cannot drive the car. I mean sure I can take it out and motor about gingerly, but that completely defeats the point of a GT3. Our family’s Hyundai Tucson is a better vehicle for that purpose (crossover SUVs are awesome). Last weekend was a completely wash out, and the forecast isn’t looking different for this weekend.

First world problem indeed, but the situation is what it is. I welcome the rain from an environmental perspective, but from a selfish point of view, can it not rain on the weekends, please?

Wishing you were outside but you’re stuck inside a DMV.

First rainy day of the season

Today was the first truly rainy day of the season, and with great predictability the traffic conditions were absolutely atrocious. A friend texted in a group chat to advise working from home if possible. Traffic in the Bay Area is bad enough on a good sunny day; mix it with heavy precipitation? Forget about it.

Late fall and winter is the time it rains in San Francisco, fairly consistently, so what I don't get is how are people not ready for it? Lack of preparedness is the only possible explanation for the slowdown that always happens when it rains, right?

Remember a few years ago when it snowed in Atlanta for the first time in never and drivers were caught off-guard? San Franciscans don't have that excuse.

Perhaps people are too squeamish about going at a normal pace in sight of the rain. Don't think Bay Area drivers skew towards the hesitant side? I bet you've never got stuck behind someone who refuses to merge out unless the oncoming car is a block away. One thing I admire about New York City drivers is that if there's a gap, they go for it. Quick and unobtrusive.

Anyways, for sure one shouldn't be blasting beyond 70 miles an hour when it's pouring down, but 50 shouldn't be the correct answer, either, and I definitely got stuck behind a few folks doing 50mph today. Unless a monsoon is coming down, going vastly slower than the speed limit on a major metropolitan highway is hugely detrimental to proper traffic flow.

Good news, though: everybody got a free cash wash today, and many more to come in the season. One of the little sweet joys of life is seeing the water beading off the car's sheetmetal: because it let's me know I've done a good job keeping it consistently waxed. To watch the pooled water glide off as I get up to speed on the highway is a always a treat, in a supremely childish way.