Every so often, I get a taste of pure city life in Boston, with today being a good example of how adaptive one must be. I woke up this morning, sleepy-eyed from my lack of adjustment to daylight savings. Knowing that it poured rain all day yesterday and all night without a break, and that many places in the Northeast experienced tropical storm force or even hurricane strength wind and windgusts, I quickly got ready calculating the increased amount of time it would take to get to work. My normal 15 minute walk would be threatned by having to maneuver among puddles and trying to avoid speeding taxi cabs shoveling street water my way.
Armed with my water-proof Northface jacket and umbrella, I stepped outside and was greeted with a wind gust that turned my umbrella inside out. Strike one. I stepped back inside my building and asked the doorman to call for a cab. It would be a 15 minute wait, the doorman said, longer than usual because everyone in their right mind in the city was taking cabs to work. Strike two. I decided I'd rather get wet than be late to work. I crossed the street, hopping in between puddles and mini-lakes of water, and headed for a bus stop. There was a free shuttle that stopped across the street that I thought would help minimize the soaking capacity of this storm. I prayed it would come soon.
As I crossed the street, I tried multiple times to open my umbrella but failed. Sheets of water slammed into my pink jacket and my fully exposed, formerly neatly pressed Banana Republic trousers. I felt water soaking through my socks and squishing around in my shoes.
There was hardly anyone on the street. I did see another woman, who was fully armed with a full-length raincoat, rubber boots, and one of those reinforced umbrellas that's resistant to turning inside out. She looked oddly comfortable, and it was clear that she was not waiting for a bus but walking all the way to her destination.
I turned around, and saw the bus coming. I began to run for the bus stop, jumping over puddles. As I leaped and bounded for the bus stop, I felt a strong tail wind helping me. Finally, the bus arrived, and I got on completely soaked. My useless umbrella was soaked too, and made another small puddle beside me on the bus.
The bus dropped me off 2 blocks from the hospital. Two others got off along with me. We almost simultaneously and successfully opened our umbrellas together. I walked/ran the two blocks to work and when I arrived, I noticed that the others gathered for rounds were completely dry. The attending had driven to work and parked in a parking garage with an underground tunnel to the hospital. One of the other fellows found a cab. I eventually changed into scrubs... ahhh the feeling of dry, warmth in the middle of a storm in the city.
