To quote a good friend of mine who lives near Manchester (the one in England), today it has been simply throwing it down. That is to say, it's friggin' pouring rain hard enough that Shannon and I have been keeping our eyes peeled for arks.

Our street has become a river. No shit. Whenever the rain becomes particularly bad for a few minutes at a stretch, our street becomes curb-to-curb water. I pity the poor people who drive cars through this crap! Of course, those of us who are on foot would probably have an even harder time. I choose to stay inside with dry feet.

Damn. Should have gotten our gutters cleared out before the rainy season. I have muttered this to myself innumerable times this winter.

In other news, after reading a kind comment from run_atreyu, I've been feeling much more positive about reading The God of Small Things. She helped me remember that reading isn't a race, and that I don't have to read all books at the same speed. Yes, I would love to be able to sit down and read all day long (which was pretty much possible with Once Upon A Winter's Night), but this particular book doesn't lend itself to that way of reading. I don't have to gulp down my food, and I don't have to gulp down my books, either. So I've been reading The God of Small Things today, off and on, and enjoying it immensely with a lot less Evelyn Wood anguish.

Geez. Sometimes I write things in this journal that make perfect sense to me, often references that I find amusing or apropos, and then afterward I wonder whether I should explain them so that I don't seem all pretentiously obscure. But y'all know Evelyn Wood, right? She of the speed-reading classes?

As Mr. Douglas (AP English teacher during my senior year of high school) used to say, a joke explained is a joke lost. Perhaps I should just make my obscure little references just as I would in my private diary, to amuse myself, and let the rest of you flounder helplessly in an ocean of Kimberlyness. Doesn't seem sporting, though.

In other other news, I have decided to amuse myself by submitting an icon to the i_contest contest this week. Thus far, my super secret submission (I'm not supposed to tell anyone which one is mine) has received a decent enough number of votes so that at least I'm not embarrassing myself. I don't take the whole thing seriously -- particularly since voting depends heavily on the aesthetic sensibility of the average member of the community, and I have no idea how mature/intelligent/artistic they are as a group -- but I may continue to participate if I find the experience sufficiently amusing. I must admit that I enjoyed voting, so I may continue to participate in that way even if/when I don't submit icons to the competition.

Hey! While I've been writing this journal entry, the rain has slowed to a trickle! Woo hoo! Rain rain go away, come again some other day. Oh ... wait ... except that I have to leave the house and wander all over town tomorrow, and I'd rather not get rained on then. So ... uh ... rain, stick around today, and leave me alone tomorrow. Damn. That one doesn't rhyme. And everyone knows the weather gods only listen to rhymed requests. Hmmm. Rain rain, stick around today ... take a hike tomorrow, while I'm away?