Portland didn't get Rain Of Doom, but today it did rain a lot. A lot. As in sporadic flooding.

I was perverse enough to go driving in it.

Figured I could use practice driving in wet conditions, plus I didn't want to be a shut-in and, more importantly, I needed groceries plus quarters for laundry. So: first up to the bank on SE Hawthorne, during the few hours it's open on Saturday. DONE. Then, on a whim, going up to the nearest library to spend an hour online listening to yesterday's Cort and Fatboy Show, with Mike Russell making his regular Friday appearance to talk about films. Then, to treat myself and to make sure I knew where it was, I weaved through further-out SE Portland to find the new Five Guys Burgers and Fries that's near SE 82nd and Johnson Creek Blvd. Yes, it's there. And traffic was a LOT heavier than I expected, so I did more zigzagging in an effort to avoid it.

Had to practice the "get water out of your brakes by braking again and braking again and braking again" thing, because yep, I wound up going through a flooded area on a major road. Did that carefully and felt safer. Was safe for the rest of the road trip, in fact. I do not like the cone of shame the feel of less-responsive brakes.

Conveniently, the new Five Guys is in the same building as the Johnson Creek Fred Meyer, and I'd wanted to shop at a Fred Meyer anyway. (Here's the Wikipedia entry for Freddy's. I like that it's called a "hypermarket.") I took my time eating my burger (mayo, mustard, tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, and jalapeno peppers) and fries. The restaurant was noisy, packed and crowded, but generally the crowd seemed a good, happy crowd. I had peanuts because that seems one of the correct places to eat peanuts. (I seem to be developing, finally, a taste for peanuts. I hope this isn't corresponding to getting a peanut allergy...)

The grocery shopping was productive but in a way that doesn't make for scintillating journal-ing, so I'll just say I shopped. And had a peppermint mocha from the Starbucks stand inside because it was time for warm drink. Even the crowd in the grocery store seemed in a pretty good mood, despite the rain. And rain. And rain.

(At least it wasn't as bad a rain as had been predicted. We broke a record Thursday and the forecast was for us to beat Thursday's record today.)

Now: still digesting that burger, fries and mocha (plus the Slurpee I snagged on the way home, and that was a satisfying Slurpee) and enjoying how funny a lot of you are online. How y'all doing?