Ulan...

The rain is pounding furiously outside. My immediate thought was: Buti na lang im jobless, I dont have to worry about getting home, getting stuck in traffic, being stranded in the LRT with unfortunate people like me who cant afford to buy a car. (No, not with the ridiculous oil price surge). I dont need to buy an umbrella from the vendors at the Manila City Hall (they should be selling umbrellas like hotcakes now) nor do I need to bring extra clothes just in case I got stranded in the office.
At least there's a good side to being jobless. You get to enjoy rain, hear it, smell it, feel it and own it while it lasts. It's one of those few things that I really love for what it is. It makes me nostalgic. When we were kids (back in Pampanga), we'd always watch the rain by the window. We'd make paper boats and toss it outside then watch it sink.
My brothers would make motorized boats from rubber slippers attached with a "machine" they dislodged from their toy cars.
Rainy days were also a time to gather up in front of the TV while we munched on sugarcane bought from the neighbor. When she was still alive, my mother always bought crickets during rainy days and prepared it adobo style for a hearty lunch. Dinner was composed of live crablets (talangka) blanched in boiling water and eaten with vinegar on the side.
We loved rain as kids because we get to swim at the basement of the house as soon as the water starts seeping in and rise up to our waists. It was always like this during rainy days thus I always made sure that the basement was clean, free of cockroaches and other insects.
Rain also reminds me of Singapore. For some weird reasons, it was always pouring when Im in this city whatever time of year. Many times I was tempted to bathe in the rain but I was too embarassed to do so. Baka bawal? As they say, it's a "fine" city (pun intended).
It has stopped raining outside. And im still jobless.