Weeralarm

That's Dutch for "weather alarm" and its what's going out in California right now because the state is being hit by some major winter storms. That's good news for those who like to ski, since the mountains are getting a major dose of new snow. It is bad news for those who live in areas affected by wild fires, because torrential rain may cause mudslides.

It may be bad news for me since I am flying into SFO while the storms are on. There have been warnings of severe delays.

Motorists are consumed by a wave as they watch high surf near the Golden Gate Bridge
during a rain storm Monday, Jan. 4, 2007, at Fort Point in San Francisco.
(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

In Quito the weather has been fantastic the past few days with amazing views of the surrounding mountains. I've enjoyed playing tennis with my parents, playing in a park with my two year-old niece and shopping at the artisan market in the modern center of the city.

Last night, thanks to the recent availability of broadband Internet at home, I watched Dutch Comedian Youp van 't Hek with my mom and dad. We really enjoyed his latest show, available on Uitzendinggemist.nl for a limited time. (In Dutch tradition, TV stations air stand-up comedy shows on New Year's eve, they made those available online for us expats, thanks!)

Youp also talked about weather alarms. Apparently the Dutch weather agency has been issuing too many of those. A bit of rain now triggers an alert, Youp complained. My parents said its true!

(For those of you tracking the troubles in my gut, they've gone! :-))