There was a time not so long ago when real estate dominated every conversation in Sydney. Now, it’s the rain. And as tedious as those property chats used to be, the endless talk of weather has somehow become just as boring.
Yet, however monotonous it feels, the wet weather completely dictates life here right now. Normally, this time of year brings days and weeks of uninterrupted fine weather. Indeed, over the past decade, we have been fortunate enough to largely avoid summer bushfires, enjoying conditions that were mostly mild and pleasant.
But this summer, we’ve been inundated with rain. We’ve had days and weeks of unrelenting wet weather, with La Niña entirely to blame. Even though I’ve lived in Sydney for 16 years now, I’ve never experienced anything quite like this, and it’s driving me crazy.
There was a wonderful piece on ABC Radio today about how we should all be building an ark, detailing the various Sydney “tribes” we’d need to make sure have a place on board: the dispassionate, disinterested inner-west barman; the drive-by shooter; the North Shore soccer mum; the Sutherland Shire ballet mum. It was very funny and brought a bit of sanity to the weather-induced insanity we’re all feeling. Though, it certainly doesn’t help that a full moon is nearly upon us either.
Thank goodness for another lovely Wednesday night at the pub with my friends. In the midst of it all, this wonderful mid-week ritual keeps me grounded. We have a new restaurant manager at the pub, too, along with a brand new menu.
On the way home, I asked the taxi driver how he was coping with the wet weather. “Terrible”, he told me, adding that it’s difficult to drive in these conditions, and everyone has stayed at home.
