I can predict the future

If you want to know the weather forecast in Washington DC, just call me. I'm way better than the weather man - it's not that hard: the poor guy doesn't even seem to have a window by which he can see the clear blue sky he's denying on his website.

So, here's what you might want to ask.

- "Are you carrying an umbrella today?" If I answer yes, then you know it won't rain. I won't complain: it makes for a very effective umbrella.
- "Are you working today?" I say yes, then you know it will be Hell's Barbecue in DC from 7 am so that I arrive at work soaked in my own sweat from walking 30 minutes in my navy suit. At least, my work relates to fighting global warming so it pumps me up for the day.

Today, you might have asked: "What are you doing this afternoon from 4 pm to 6:30 pm". I would have said: "I'm playing non-American football at the Ellipse". Then you would have known why your neighbour Noah had been so busy for the last 6 months making round trips at the pet shop and Home Depot.

It rained like Zeus had been holding it for the last 5 days.

My glasses don't sport wipers, so I took them off. But then again, nor are my eyes, so it didn't help much. I was wearing a white t-shirt, much to the enjoyment of the ladies (I wish) and I didn't have an umbrella (see question 1 above).

So there in the rain, we had our very own End-of-the-World Cup. Thank God it stopped raining for an hour or so during the game, otherwise we would have had to switch to the rules of water-polo. The upside is that we looked like warriors, sport addicts, not the sissies that we really were secretly wanting be home and dry.

Game was fun. No need to mention who won here because it was just about having fun and I wasn't in the winning team. I got to plunge once to block a kick, hurting my back and my leg in the process, in exchange for a "Great play!" shouted from afar. Good enough for me. I didn't score, but I take consolation in the fact that very few on my team did.

If you left at the end of the game, you missed the end of the show. Remember: I was still outside and vulnerable. I guess a cloud saw me and decided to have a go at it. The rain fell like cloud #2 wanted to outdo cloud #1 that had reigned over Washington two hours ago. I believe it was a tie.
As planned in the Grand Master Plan it stopped raining when I arrived home. I'll leave my freezing encounter with the A/C of the building for another post. Let's say that I had the fourth season in one day that I was missing and it wasn't summer.