Twist of Fate

I like typhoons. They're actually pretty fun, and they're not so much dangerous as they are just miserable to be outside in.

When a typhoon comes along and pummels our island, sometimes it becomes "dangerous to be outdoors", so the local government calls a meeting the night before and issues a decision (by 10pm) on whether the following day will be a typhoon holiday. If it is, then you get the day off and are not obligated to come to work, and won't suffer pay deduction for it. (And sometimes, the day will clear anyway, and you can go to KTV or watch a movie or something anyhow.)

We had that opportunity again as Typhoon Kaemi tapproached with a path that would cross straight over Taiwan. It was scheduled to hit over the island with the worst of it falling upon us around 8pm last night, ensuring the government folks would see how bad it was during their decision-making period. And it wasn't a weekend -- last year, most typhoons just managed to ruin our weekends and then clear up the skies for the workweek.

But not this one: this one and perfect timing and path.

I watched with anticipation, even gleeful excitement: I don't know what it is, but I've never wanted a typhoon holiday so badly before. I mean, I really craved this free day off. Two days before, I even hit up Carrefour and bought a jug of water, some non-perishables, and mentally ran through the movies I wanted to watch that day at home.

Monday morning, I took the bus to work instead of scootering in what I expected would be tough rains. As the afternoon approached, sheets of rain would fall, and then stop, then fall again. I checked the Central Weather Bureau website with the same reload-reload-again fury with which I check my blog comments. Evening came, rains came, and I was half-prepared for a day off.

What's the b!tch of a typhoon do?
Changes direction southward.

It passes over Taiwan, alright, but over the southern half of Taiwan, so Taipei had declared it a regular workday even before 7pm had come around! Bastards. Stupid Kaemi. All it did was make it a terribly windy day with light misty rains, and then destroy our crops to hike our produce prices up 30%!

Argh. I hate typhoons.