It’s been raining a lot here in San Francisco. On Friday, I wore shoes that were not waterproof, and within two blocks of walking, despite my having an umbrella, my left sock was soaked through. My right foot was merely damp. By the time I reached BART, my trousers were wet from the knee down, and damp almost to my waist. My sweater stayed dry, although my shirt-cuffs got damp.

The rain makes everything smell more. The first thing Urse and I noticed when we entered Gratitude Cafe was how grassy and faintly fermented/off it smelled. It does not normally smell of grass. I suppose the humidity made the smell of raw vegetables linger in the air, where it soon took on an off-note. Enzymes aren’t the only living things in food (technically I don’t think enzymes are actually even "alive," but whatever. Raw food tastes great!).

I also noticed that when I took a piss, the smell of ammonia was very strong, almost like cat litter. It was different from the smell of piss after asparagus or certain beans.

Damp clothes also smell, of course, and being on a crowded MUNI bus with other people whose vestments had acquired varying levels of hydration was a little unpleasant.

When it rains, I sweat inside my clothes. What I think is actually happening is that the sweat that is inside my clothes, which normally would evaporate, lingers on because of the near-100% humidity, and so develops into a sticky-damp layer. I then get shocked occasionally when my clothing shifts and a particularly cold and wet portion comes into contact with my skin.

If it got colder when it rained, that would be one thing. In San Francisco, it seems to get warmer when it rains, but not so warm that you could wear shorts, sandals or flip-flops and a t-shirt (which are, to me, the least unpleasant clothes in the rain). Instead, you walk around with long pants (wet) and shirts (damp with rain) and undershirts (damp with sweat), shoes (soaked) and socks (damp/soaked), and an outer layer (damp/wet/made of loathesome artificial fibers).

To top it all off, the flourescent light in the kitchen goes on the blink when it’s damp, bringing the gloom of the day inside.

picture from roboppy.