Size 9 Black Stilletos if possible...

Let me start by saying: I will always consider myself a Washingtonian. I love the rain and I scowl at the ice cream truck as it drives by in January. I will never root for USC and the no matter how bad the Mariners are, the Angels have no merit in my book.

That being said, here is a story of a Washingtonian displaced in California on a rainy day...

This morning started like any other Tuesday morning. I woke up, got dressed...finally in a long sleeve shirt and rain coat :)...ate some breakfast, back my backpack and headed to school. While it has been forecasted to rain this week, a California rain storm lasts a few hours and then stops and the street dry up in another hour. So being from Washington, I was not worried about walking to school.

Near the end of my class the rain picked up and the winds started blowing...the attention captivating abilities of rain in southern California can easily be compared to the A.D.D. induced by the first snowflake of the season seen outside an elementary school classroom in Washington.

People got frigidity!

As I said before, Washingtonian. Therefore, I am used to the annual windstorm that makes the rain feel like needles and knocks out the power for a few hours. So instead of stressing about walking 20 feet in this weather from class to work, I just felt more at home :)

Well during my break between class and work, I sat down to eat lunch. While reading a book, I get a call from my roommate who works in Irvine.

Jill: Where are you?
Amanda: School...
J: What is the weather like there?
A: Raining...why?
J:There is a tornado warning! It is supposed to start in Long Beach and move toward Whittier! (Whittier is the town next to La Mirada)
A: Oooo!
J:Don't you dare walk home in this!!
A: Gotcha
J: Ok. I just wanted to let you know.
A: Ok. Thanks.

I laughed after I got off the phone...really? A Tornado? Wizard of Oz much?

When I got to work at the advising center, apparently campus safety had sent out a notice to all Biola employees telling them about the Tornado warning. For the next 30 minutes the registrar and the advising center were buzzing about what to do in the case of a Tornado.

Possible solutions:

• Go the basement...that no homes have
• Hide in the bathtub...which is right next to a window
  
• Lay down in a ditch...which is flowing with water
  

Again, not that worried, but secretly hopping it would come closer because windstorms are COOL, I prepared in a different way. I decided on the shoes I would like Glinda the good witch to give me in the event that my house is picked up by the tornado and transported over the rainbow to a land of color ;)

Fire Engine Red

Today I rode in a fire engine!
Yes, it was as cool as you think it is.

For my interterm class, Christ and Contemporary Culture, we were sent out in small groups to talk with people about how they integrate their faith into their place of employment. Our group was assigned to go meet with someone who works as a firefighter at the LA City Fire Department. At the end of our time talking with him, he offered to take us for a ride in the fire engine! We climbed in the cab, put on their headsets, and drove around their neighborhood a bit.

So. Much. Fun.

Lesson Learned

I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway.I will not speed down Imperial Highway...

I personally think that writing "I will not speed down Imperial Highway" 100 times is a much more effective punishment than a $400 ticket and traffic school...The point has been communicated clearly ;)