Thunderstorms

It has rained more in the past two days in Sydney than it did in the previous month combined. I feel obligated to make quick crack about bringing some Rochester weather down under, but in this case, I am not bothered in the slightest.

Aside from the always appreciated presence of precipitation in Australia (there always seems to be one drought or another here), I really love rainstorms of any kind (so does the country music genre). There is something so refreshing and cleansing feeling about them that always seems to put me in a good mood. Foremost of these are good old fashioned thunderstorms. And we are having some great thunderstorms right about now.

Something about them just fills me with a sense of awe and wonder, seeing the power of nature expressed in such a beautiful yet tumultuous fashion. I feel incredibly invigorated by them, especially when I get the chance to stand outside in the fury of the storm, and feel the rain pelt down on me; its a sense of freedom.

There are also, at least for me, something very sexy about them. Add some thunder and lightning to anything involving a pretty girl, and it makes it that much more exciting. If you'll indulge me*, allow me to write briefly about what I still consider one of my best kisses (and trust me, there are a number of top-notch contenders):

I was on a mission trip to Ohio, and we were all staying at some sort of bible camp while we rebuilt some local houses that had been damaged by storms/flooding. Now, I was walking around the camp grounds with a friend; a fairly cute redhead. We had gotten a fair distance from the main hall when a superb summer thunderstorm suddenly came up and started drenching us. After agreeing that we were in no particular hurry to do so, we started heading back at an extremely casual pace. We soon happened upon a nice little footbridge spanning a little river, and right when we got to the center I think both of us were a little taken by the moment.

Warm rain was coming down in buckets; both of us at this point were entirely soaked to the bone. The river had swollen from a little trickle of water to a comparative deluge, and it was just approaching dusk so that the main light was from the lighting which streaked down through the sky. Without saying anything, we turned to each other and our eyes met. That wonderful moment of knowing you are about to kiss washed over both of us with the rain, and she leaped up and wrapped her legs around me and I suppose the ending is pretty clear.

That was the only time that something happened between us, and we haven't really kept in touch, but I'll always appreciate that memory.

If by some miracle you are still reading, I also had a fantastic first day at work, and won a little award from the Physics department at UR, so generally speaking, things are going pretty well.

*Or even if you won't, its my blog after all :P