Metal Prongs Might Poke Out My Eyes, But Water Will Never Hurt Me

It's ark-building season again in Vancouver. Eventually the lack of light will probably start to get me down, but for now the rain doesn't bother me as much as the umbrellas. It doesn't help that Vancouver is a city of crowded sidewalks filled with short people whose umbrellas are always waving about at (my) eye level.

I've never been a huge fan of water. I'm a lousy swimmer, I was never keen on baths or showers as a kid, and I can certainly appreciate that a cold rain is not the most pleasant thing in the world. Having said all that, I still find the idea that I should carry around my own personal shield to protect me from falling water to be a tad excessive. My favourite is the people who can't take in their umbrella until they have poked their head inside the bus and who start opening their umbrellas on the steps of the bus as they are getting off. They can't wait one extra step?

Who knows, perhaps Vancouver has seen a lot of immigration from the land of Oz and the city is filled with wicked witches who just got tired of the long winters or the dangerous job market back there, and this umbrella obsession is actually a necessary life saving measure, but it's still annoying.