Tackling a Rainy Day

"Tropical Storm Debby spawns fatal tornado in Florida, drenches coast" - CNN


Needless to say, many of us Floridians have had a rainy day. After a couple of conversations with friends and family in different parts of the state, I came to the realization that a rainy day equates to a lazy, dull, or lethargic day. Although I usually blame rain for making me sleepy, today I decided to overcome this drowsiness brought on by Mother Nature. Without further ado, here are some ideas of things to do to keep you active during a downpour:


1. Embrace the rain. Just because it's raining you shouldn't lock yourself up. Today I had lunch with a fraternity brother and a friend at a Lebanese restaurant. The rain actually cooled the area off a bit, so it was pleasant not to be sweating after leaving your car for once. After lunch, we visited the only mall in this city, and then we toured west Gainesville for a bit. The movies are also an alternative.


2. Don't nap - clean. It's easy to get sleepy on a rainy day, but use that time to clean something. My mom always says, "if you're bored it's because you're not doing something that you should be doing." And like always, she's right. After spending two weekends at home in Brandon and another two in Miami, my room accumulated enough chores for me to take care of. For example, dust. Dust is everywhere, and I have yet to understand why it exists.

My dresser after being dusted.

My dresser on a regular day.

3. Exercise. There are so many things you can do in the comfort of your home like jumping jacks, wall-sits, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. I'm not a fan of all of that because it requires a lot of dedication and time..and I'm not usually willing to do all of that on a daily basis, but I'm determined to shed the pounds I've gained in the last year. After feeling the burn, cool down by jogging.

4. Jog in the rain. I've been wanting to do this for a while, and I finally had the opportunity. You should  prepare accordingly, like wear light clothing, put your phone in a Ziploc® bag, etc. After jogging, hang your clothes to dry and place a towel under them to collect excess water. Take your shoes apart so that they don't begin to smell.

5. Fix your clothes. By "fix" I mean wash, fold, iron, put away, and/or arrange your clothes. Luckily today I just had to arrange my clothes to separate the things I care for more from the ones I can live without if my place burned down. Tomorrow, since it'll be raining again, I plan on ironing some of my shirts to get them back in my closet...finally.

6. Practice the languages you know. I'm big on languages. My first one is Spanish, followed by Italian that my mom tried teaching us from a young age and that I regained in college, then English, then French. I feel comfortable in all those four. I speak Hindi/Urdu and Arabic mediocrely, so I don't consider that I speak those fluently, just to get by. I understand Portuguese almost fluently, but speak it mediocrely as well. I can read Russian, but don't know what I'm telling you. So the last two I almost never bring up in conversation for obvious reasons.

Reading Le Petit Prince and typing what I could into Arabic.

After watching T.V. for an hour, I called it a day. It may not seem to be the most exciting list of activities, but these are things that I enjoy doing for the most part, and they definitely kept me busy on this gloomy day.

Until next time!