And I am so extremely excited about it. As great as wearing shorts and drinking iced tea is, I am a much bigger fan of waking up to overcast skies and sipping chai lattes while listening to the tap tap tapping of rainfall. Last year, the rains started earlier here in L.A. (sometime in October). We have only had tiny bouts of precipitation so far, but I can sense that a nice chunk of consistent gloomy weather is headed our way soon.

Here is a quick list of things that you can do when it rains at UCLA:

• Take pictures in your dorm room. There is something freakishly therapeutic about setting the 10-second timer and posing in your desk chair. After taking bunches and bunches of Myspace-esq photos, edit the heck out of them. Some people like Photoshop or Picassa. My favorite is Picnik.
• Listen to Michael Buble. Go to Pandora and create a Michale Buble station. Or, if you are not ashamed of actually just listening to holiday music (Michael Buble sounds a lot like holiday music, which is why I listen to it), go right ahead and create a holiday station (my fave is Mariah Carey’s).
• If you are really feeling like making your wintery rainy experience authentic (well, authentic as you can without violating dorm codes) you can listen to the sounds of a crackling fireplace.
• Experiment with your microwave and its capabilities for making hot and delicious drinks. Grab some peppermints from the dining hall and drop a few in your next cup of cocoa. Swirl a spoonful of Nutella in with your instant coffee. Have fun making it and drinking it.
• If you are not having luck with your microwave, head on over to Kerckhoff Coffeehouse or to Jimmy’s and get that real fall rain experience of sipping on a macchiato.
• Take a walk in the rain. The top of Janss Steps already has a spectacular view, but everything being lit in that beautiful soft light that comes from overcast skies makes the campus looks like a movie set.
• Set a cup outside before class and pick it up when you get back. Use the water to do some watercolor paintings (or you could just drink the water).
• Go fountain hopping. What other time are you already going to be wet enough in your clothes to justify jumping into Shapiro fountain?
• Last (actually not last, there is an unlimited number of fun rain-related activities to do), just stare at the rain. Whenever possible. Sitting in your dorm, just look out the window and appreciate the rain. Getting out of class, just stop for a moment before putting up your umbrella and smile at the rain. Love the rain. Feel the rain. Be one with the rain.

I will say though that yes you do need an umbrella. Getting to lecture dripping wet is not that fun (but getting the point where you are dripping wet definitely is). Have fun with the rainy season! Do not shun it as so many So Cal-ers do!