Walking Home

So out here in Iowa we get AMAZING thunderstorms and the rain just pours! They are really fun to watch because you can see forever since there is nothing to really obscure your view....like mountains, or even a hill, for that matter. So, you can see these amazing thunderstorms that seem like they are right there next to you, when in fact they are miles away. They can also come on very quickly and just down pour like a monsoon. It's nuts!

So I was at work the other day (I work downtown by the university) and there is virtually NO PARKING. Needless to say, I am perfecting my skills on parallel parking. In order to get to work I have to leave an hour early just so I can find a parking spot 6 blocks away so that I can walk 6 blocks to work and get there in time. I actually don't really mind the walk, seeing as though it is the only excercise I am getting these days and holds as a good excuse to justify my lack of exercise. But yesterday, I found myself forgetting that I am in Iowa, and it is the Fall. I got off work at about 7:00 that night and gathered my things to make the trek to my car, and right as I got to the door, I noticed it was raining and I had no umbrella. I waited for a few minutes to see if it would let up. It didn't. I decided to just take the plunge. It really wasn't that bad for the first 1/4 of the trip and then it decided to just hammer down. I started to pick up my pace and run, but really, I was not even half way to my car so I knew there was no avoiding it. When I finally got to my car I was DRENCHED! It was really quite the show to those sitting out on their porches watching me frantically try to find refuge from the monsoon. Yet another lesson I have learned being out here. ALWAYS, carry an umbrella in the Fall because you just never know when that drizzle is going to turn to a flood.

Tornado Warning

I was sound asleep in my bed this morning and was awakened by this shrill siren going off outside. I had no idea what was going on. It lasted for about 2 minutes and then came on once again! I was terrified because their I am in my pajamas, alone in a home without a basement, Brian is at school, my phone won't work and I think I have just heard sirens for a tornado warning. Oh yeah-just to top it off last night we had a terrible and severe rain and thunder storm, confirming my concerns. I have no idea what I am supposed to do. So, I run downstairs and manage to get the internet up to see if their is anything in the headlines. I can't find anything so I google it. Sure enough, I find it was indeed a tornado warning....that they routinely perform the first Monday of the month--granted that their is not occasion for a real alert. I check the weather just to be sure and find.....nothing alarming, thank goodness! Geeze, scare the bejeebers out of me! I did however take the opportunity to read up on a few tips about what to do in the case of a real tornado warning so that next time I won't be so clueless.