I Love A Rainy Day

Over the past several days we've received about an inch or more of rain each day. At times, it comes in torrents. At other times, it just comes and comes and comes. I'm not suggesting this is abnormal -- it's typical winter weather here on the south Washington coast.

What strikes me as interesting is that the environment here just soaks it up like a sponge. In order for this area to have flooding problems, we've got to be hit by week long monsoons, one right after the other.

Compare this to other parts of the U.S. If my friend Carlotta saw this much rain, she'd be flooded out of her house for sure. Carlotta lives in suburban Phoenix and rain is not something they see all that often.

About 13 years ago, my wife Della & I lived in Pendleton, OR. That region averages about 12 inches of precipitation per annum, most of it in the form of snow. I can remember a time or two when an inch or so fell over a 24 hour period. You would have thought we were living in biblical times and we should head for the ark!

Even in the Midwest, the copious amount of rain we've received thus far this calendar year (probably about 15-20 inches in 5 weeks) would be causing a lot of concern. People would be eying the nearest levy and, possibly, filling lots of sandbags.

It just goes to show that every place is different. What would strain one area is perfectly natural for another. It's a lesson we humans should really embrace.

Everything has its time and everything has its place.

Out of Time

While time itself is a human construct, this human is having difficulty with finding the time to do several things. My life keeps changing in dramatic ways, though this isn't saying much since change is the way of the world.

When I started this blog, I had a lot of time on my hands. I needed something to keep me engaged with the world around me. In essence, I needed a vehicle that provided me with a mechanism to climb outside my own head. So, most days, I dutifully wrote at least one entry.

In the past 6 months, however, time has been at a premium for me. I've added two part-time jobs and my income has tripled (not that this says much -- I'm still poor). So, I now have 3 jobs plus all my various volunteer duties as State Treasurer of the Green Party of Washington State. It leaves little time to share my thoughts here.

It's not that I don't still have thoughts to share with the world! There are many blog entries swirling in my head almost every day and, on many days, I've planned to pen an entry. It usually ends up, though, that I run out of time and mental energy.

So, on the one hand, I could decide to shutdown The Rambling Taoist. Blogs come and go daily. The world wouldn't stop spinning if there was no TRT. But I realize that each aspect of our lives has its OWN time and TRT may have its time again. So, it will remain here and I will share my thoughts on it as time allows.

One of my new jobs is with the Green Institute. I'm the Researcher for GreenPRO. It's the kind of job I think most people would find mundane, but, for a research maven like me, it's a dream job! I spend hours each day trolling the web for progressive local policies, programs, resolutions and ordinances to add to our ever-growing online database. By the end of today, we should have over 800 entries!!

So, if you wanted to know where most of my blog entry energy has gone, check out GreenPRO.