Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Raindrops are back!

After a lot of teases every now and then for the last few months, it's finally here. Yesterday, on my way back home I wiped the first official raindrops of 2010, off my helmet visor. It was a wonderful feeling yet again. After a gruelling hot summer and an even hotter office, the cool wind carrying little raindrops feels good to the skin. When I left office a small drizzle wet my palms, but as I hit the highway the hot sun was back, reflecting off the shiny glass surface of the Wego's instrumentation. The drizzle felt like just another one of the rain god's teasers as I sighed inside my helmet. But as I rode closer to home things suddenly changed!

A sudden shower hit me. It was as if a south Indian movie director shouted 'Action' and the artificial rain showers were left loose on a bunch of dancers.
I wanted to take cover somewhere for I was least expecting such a downpour. After my iPhone went into coma last month I didn't want to risk losing my iPad and my laptop to the rain monster. But the sad state that we are in today, I couldn't find a single tree that could provide shelter. I quickly flung my bag off my back and onto the scooter's footboard to try and protect it from the rain. I stooped forward to give the bag some added protection, thus looking like some kind of a loser clerk that Shahrukh Khan would enact in a 'Rab ne bana di jodi' sequel. But the stooping didn't help much either. In fact the helmet's tapering chin channelized a stronger flow of water onto the bag that now sat between my calf muscles. However, the Wego's broad apron avoided too much water from reaching the base of the bag.

I somehow managed to reach home within ten minutes of the shower ambush. But that time was more than enough to soak me to the bone! I ran up the stairs to my apartment to take out all the gadgets and get them to dry out immediately. Fortunately for me, the water had just managed to dampen the covers of the iPad and the laptop - but a lil more riding in the rain could have got me into trouble. Looking at the state of the bag, I couldn't believe my luck though. Probably the cockroach I saved from drowning last morning gave me some blessings :P...

Anyway three things to remember from my experience today:

1. Always carry your gadgets in a waterproof bag and don't keep your laptop on standby mode all the time unless you desperately need to.
2. A cool (not cold) Oreo shake tastes better after getting drenched, than a hot coffee.
3. Don't be a stubborn ass and continue riding in the rain with vulnerable stuff inside the bag. If you can't find a tree, take shelter under a building! After all, its not everyday that you find cockroaches that bless you...