The waters are rising...

I heard the thunder, but I assumed it was a moving truck or something (that comes from years of living in cities and learning to sleep through all kinds of outrageous sound). But then the room grew dark, and I turned to see...rain? A trip to my balcony (still can't believe I have a balcony) let me see it, a rainstorm in the desert. It's actually kind of beautiful. The mountains are red in the distance, and there are dark grey clouds hovering above them. Rain here feels wonderful, not cold at all, it feels inviting. I kind of want to run outside and play in it! Except that I'm surrounded by concrete, which isn't a very playful surface. But it's raining, and that makes me feel good.
For five years, I lived in Seattle, and I had more than my share of rain there. 8 months of the year, it rained. Except that it wasn't rain so much as it was a heavy mist. Umbrellas were mostly useless, the air was just wet. And there were no clouds, no storms to speak of. There was just a flat, grey ceiling of a sky, every day, for 8 months. There was endless moisture, and I was constantly chilled. I'd lived in much colder places, Seattle hardly ever reaches the freezing mark. But the damp settled into my bones and blood, and nothing could warm me. Except a glass of bourbon, that always did the trick. From the first sip, I could feel the warmth travel through me, warming first my lips and tongue, my throat and lungs, my belly. The second sip travelled a little lower, and by the end of the first glass, I would curl my toes in my shoes, thankful that they were no longer numb. A glass of bourbon was medicinal in those dark winter months of endless grey. And when the ceiling retracted, when the blue sky reminded us of the space beyond, when the sun shone strong enough to cast shadows on the ground, the winter seemed well worth it.
But now, it's winter that I long for! At least, the autumn. A cooling-down. I long for rain, I long for weather, I long for a cold that isn't manufactured. Because as hot as it is outside, inside I am forced to wear sweatshirts to shield myself from the arctic blast of the air conditioning. I like warmth, I even like heat. But this desert heat is a killer. I miss moisture. I miss humidity, even though it's a bitch to keep my hair from 'fro-ing out. This dry heat keeps me parched, I can't drink enough water to keep from being thirsty!
I am thrilled to see it rain. Even though it will lead to flooding in this city. Every time it rains, the city floods. Not the Strip, though the sewage rises and causes some serious foul odors. Take a walk near the Palazzo and Treasure Island after a rain and you'll smell what I mean. There are billboards all over town instructing people on the how-to's of flooding, so it's clearly an issue, one which may be a large pain in my ass someday. But for today...YAY!! IT'S RAINING!!