While walking to the MU for coffee and a breakfast burrito this morning, I saw post-storm sights that I wanted to share. For the big picture, click on the small photos.

One of the trees in planters that surround the Cady Fountain was toppled by the wind - this tree has been in place my whole 10 years at ASU and withstood many storms. I guess it was just its time.

Another tree outside Dixie Gammage lost a big chunk. I think this is an olive tree, so wish it would have suffered a complete toppling fate instead of the tree by the fountain. Maybe this one will have lost enough of itself to justify its total removal. I’m terribly allergic to olive trees.

Storm detritus collected on the sidewalk. The bougainvillea bracts blow everywhere and after a storm it looks like a wedding aisle once the flower girl has completed her task. I love them and wish facman wasn’t so quick with the brooms and blowers.

For cleanup, ASU uses gas blowers and these small street sweepers - this guy was racing around, blasting away at the post-storm debris. He was twirling and swirling, almost like he was a counterstorm storm. This is an action photo that took me three tries to get - he was moving!

I fell asleep rather early last night, but then woke up a short time later because the apartment was just … too … quiet. Our teleivison was off, the fan and ac were still. The other three people in the apartment were gathered in a small huddle in the living room passing our flashlights. Ben handed me one. “Flashlights? Dude it’s midnight.” He extends it further. “Just take it, in case something happens.” Yes, in case the bad man runs up off the streets, past the gates, and up three stories to our inconveniently located apartment building, and pillages our plunder, reaping the benefits of a late-night Mesa rampage. He speaks again, eyes meeting mine in a serious notion. “Dude, have you seen the news? There are bad people out.”

I am worried, for apparently our door locks run on power, and without electricity, we are screwed.

“Oh.”

I step out on the patio and watch rain and lightning pour down on our little corner of east Mesa, and cars drive by full of ignorants, who decide that now is the time to leave their apartment complex for a Vodka run to Walgreens.

I fall back asleep, but damn, it is humid. Sleep well, Mesa and you in your cars.

Remnants abound after last night’s rain. Palm pieces and tree leaves all over the sidewalks, puddles, lowered temperatures, humidity - it almost feels human-friendly again. As I walked toward my building this morning, I couldn’t resist a photo of this “mirror” lake (apologies to OSU) created in a small detention swale between the music building and ed lecture hall. These impromptu lakes are everywhere after a good rain - hope to see more of them in the coming weeks.

My wife and I did something tonight we rarely do: watch the local news. I’m pretty sure I know why we never do now:

The coverage of the monsoon storms is borderline sensational. There’s definitely newsworthy points to be made: flooding, safety, closures, etc. But are we, as consumers of news, so taken by rain and storms at the expense of everything else going on in the world or the rest of the state? The channel we watched tonight (which shall go unnamed) must have shown live footage of rain/lightning at least five times throughout the broadcast. At a point, it feels patronizing. Look, we know it’s raining. Tell us something else.

I wonder if this happens in other cities.

I read an article from azcentral that there would be year round schooling in some school districts. I am not familiar with the public school system here and slowly learn more about it before my daughter begins preschool. My daughter is only 4 months old, but even some have told me to sign up for preschool now. Go figure.

My school memories include taking naps, painting and eating lunch in preschool. Having my hair pulled by some mean girls in elementary school, and being in the nerdy group in high school. I had no idea of the finances that came with my academics. I will have to learn now.

I do know, however, how lucky kids are in this computer age. Finding answers to questions from class won’t take all day sifting through books in the library, like in my day. Just google it. I even read 4th graders in a Phoenix elementary school doing away with chalkboards and bringing in these interactive (computer screen) boards instead. Amazing.

Children now are going to learn so much so quickly now. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing, but I hope my daughter will have a well rounded education - art and science - while having fun at the same time. I know I’ll be there to support her every step of the way. I hope the education system won’t disappoint us.

I could not believe when I heard that San Francisco had a heat wave peaking around 108 degrees over the weekend. My family and friends complained to me how agonizing and unbearable it was. They told me from that some people died because they didn’t have air conditioning in their poorly insulated 50+ year old homes.

When we started furnishing our home here in Arizona (1 and a half years later and still furnishing), I didn’t like the ceiling fans. They looked grotesque to me and reminded me of that movie where someone was not stooping down when they walked underneath some helicopter propeller blades and horrifically got their head chopped off. What movie was that?

Anyways, I sometimes feel having living in both extremes, cold winters in Washington and hot summers in Arizona, I do not like them, but I will not complain. And when rain comes when I least expect it and cools my surroundings down, I am surprised, elated and welcome its visit.

It may be 12 degrees cooler than last week, but I’ll take 114 and dry over 102 and as humid as it is today! Anyone else? Looks like we’re in for this the rest of the week.

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It’s so hot even the crickets have taken residence over our home. I’ve been giving some thought on whether or not to spray the perimeter and interior of my house to get rid of these crickets, with a 4 month old to contend with. I really don’t want to use chemicals, but it is our last resort. Living in the desert, I realized its either scorpions, crickets, or sewer roaches. Who knows what other mysterious desert reptiles and insects might be coming out of the woodwork. I’m sure they come out and party once I’m asleep.

People have told me there has to be cracks somewhere in our home. Our house is only 2 years old and built by a reputable firm. It’s not so much as the lack of craftmanship of these homes; it’s just that they don’t make homes like they used to anymore. The 50 year old house that I used to own in California was built stronger than the one I’m living in. No pests too. As I sit here typing these words, I hear the wind blowing against the north side of my house. The wall for some reason has a weird rattling sound like it is about to crumble to the floor any minute.

Does anyone know of a safer solution to my pest control problem?