Okay.. go ahead. Lay it on me. What do you think about the rain? I have mixed emotions. I hate missing my morning and weekend runs because it's just so wet outside. I hate that my pants fit a little tighter because of it. My dog hates it because he doesn't like getting his feet wet and misses his walks. But, I love the way it looks, sounds and smells. In terms of our coverage.. well, the rain dominates. I get it. The pictures are interesting and the flooding/landslides/falling trees do pose a potential danger to people. But, I could use a little break. How about you?? Email me: Click here to sound off about the WEATHER. With your permission I may post a few-- but I'll leave out your last name and email address for privacy.

The rain is the reason I got assigned this story tonite even though it ended up having nothing to do with it. I showed up to work about 15 minutes late and by the time I got into the morning meeting the managers had already assigned me to a rain and depression story.

I found out that OHSU employs the researcher who actually coined the term for this winter depression. Dr. Al Lewy came up with the term Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD a while back to describe this season-specific depression. But it's not related to the rain. It's related to the length of the days. Winter days here are much shorter than summer days and about 20% of us have our body clocks get screwed up because of it (15% mild cases and 5% more serious). And since winter is the rainy season it may feel like that's the culprit.

Some of the symptoms of SAD include: excessive eating coupled with a craving for starchy foods (Doesn't that sound weird? One source I found suggests it's related to the lack of energy SAD sufferers feel.. the starchy foods provide some relief. I tried to call Dr. Lewy but he's not in his office. He'd know.). Other symptoms include weight gain, excessive sleeping, a lack of energy during the day even after excessive sleeping, irritability, and a reversal of symptoms once the days get longer.

I've got more to post, but it's 4:37 and I have to go get ready for my live shot. I'm live on the roof for the 5pm hit, by the way. We call it "downtown Portland" which is totally accurate... but it's still the roof.

I'll add more to this posting once I'm done with my 5pm hit. I have some good background info for you and (on a totally unrelated note) another dog picture to post.

Well, I was not on the roof afterall. I mean, I TRIED to go live from the roof. I climbed three stories of stairs only to realize you now need a keycard to get up there. Back down three flights of stairs to retrieve said card. Back up three flights and I put the card to the reader and.... nothing. My keycard doesn't work. The photographer I was working with, Rod, ran into me on the stairs and let me through the door. We got into position only to realize my IFB doesn't work. The IFB is the little earpiece that allows me to hear what's going out over the air and what the producers need to tell me. Without it, you're sunk. We didn't even have a monitor so I could just guess when it was time to talk (which I've done).

So, the desk calls Rod and tells him to tell me to hightail it to the newsroom to the camera there (we call it cam4). I flew down the stairs, removing jackets etc. as I went, and plunked myself down in the seat with 2 minutes to spare.

Nuts.

Okay, Linda wrote me about the whole "starchy foods" things. Must be why she craves tuna casserole, she says. Made me laugh out loud.

Steve wrote me saying he gets depressed by the sun. He knows he's in the minority but has an interesting point. Here is an excerpt from his email:

I know I may be in the minority, but the sun depresses me. I live for this time of year. I love cloudy days and especially foggy and rainy days. I lived in Tucson for 2 ½ years, and had some of the worst depression of my life. (I’m 48) I love the nighttime and before I retired, all I wanted to work was graveyard. And this time of year was heaven. Go to work in the dark, come home in the dark, and sleep the daylight away.

My point? Not everyone sees the rain and short days as a negative, so please don’t lead off with the assumption that rain, etc. is a bad thing. These are the things that make Oregon Oregon.

Yup. The rain is definitely a part of living here. And I love it!! I could just do with a break every now and then. But that's just me.

Heather just wrote me with this:

Your story this evening caught my attention and I thought I'd at least add my 2 cents.

Interesting about the length of days that causes SAD. Have to admit that today, when the afternoon sun shone wonderfully in my home between 2-4 pm, I had a sudden burst of energy that I'd thought I'd lost over the last 3-4 weeks. Being wrapped up in the holiday shuffle, I hadn't had the time to think about much else. Now that life is back to "normal", (ie: kids in school, house straightened up somewhat and hubby's work schedule back on track) I've found that the days upon days of gloom have really gotten to me. I haven't had that "spark" and it shows in my attitude. All that to say...the sunshine today, brief as it was, was a real shot in the arm for me.

Thought you'd get a kick out of this one...my kids, 10, 7, and 3, look out the window in the morning as we ready ourselves for the day and say, "Mommy, its another Eeyore day"! (Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh) They've sure been right lately.

Kids say the darndest things, don't they??

Okay, time for the gratuitous dog photos..

This little guy (make that BIG guy) is named Moose and keeps our producer Rich very busy. He's obviously having the time of his life in the snow!!

And Roger sent me this photo of his dog Daphne.

Still waiting for that random pet.. like an iguana or something. :-) Click here to email me..