It's The End of the World

People stranded on top of cars while caught in the flooding
in Queensland, Australia.

I think the world is coming to an end. For the past few days it has been doing nothing but raining and raining and raining in Melbourne. According to the Aussie Weather channel it is the same storm system that is causing flooding in the Queensland area, and today they have started to evacuate some of the northern suburbs of Melbourne, though there is very little concern that any flooding will reach the city. So I have been spending a lot of time watching the TV in the main lounge of the hostel. (So I have been mostly watching news, cricket, and tennis.) What I have been seeing though, is rather disturbing (and I'm not just talking about the cricket). It seems like the whole world is going crazy. There is massive flooding in Australia, volcanoes erupting in EUROPE?! of all places, flooding in Brazil, and back home I know there is feet and feet of snow piling up, and a deranged gunman shooting congresswomen. I know that the newscasters have a propensity for over exaggeration, but I mean this is getting a little ridiculous.

The flooding in the Brisbane area is getting really severe. The water is rising up to above 12 metres... which is almost 40 feet. There is a lot of incredible footage being shown and now there is talk about the Brisbane damn breaking. It is reminding me a lot of the Hurricane Katrina coverage in America. Newscasters, apparently, are fairly universal. Once they get hold of a disaster, they won't seem to let it go. When I say this coverage is the only thing on TV, I am not lying. Every 2 minutes there is another estimate of death tolls being made, or another piece of footage of cars being washed away in the flood, or some expert comparing this disaster to one thing or another. Mostly it is being compared to the 1974 flooding in Australia, to which as an American I am afraid to say, "There was flooding in 1974." (Granted I wouldn't be born for another 9 years, but this is news to me.) It really highlights how far Australia is. It suffered major flooding and I had no real idea.

The rain itself has been sporadic, yet hard. It comes and goes throughout the day, sometimes heavy and sometimes only a small drizzle. It, however, has been enough to deter many thoughts of venturing outside. I have since broken down and decided to buy a full-day Internet card to pass the day away. I have been trying to catch up on my emails and other Internet related tasks. I have also spent the past few days looking for an apartment and even a job. I sent out some emails, but I have only been met with rejection so far. As you can imagine that has a way to darken an already rainy day. I even ventured across town a few times in hopes of seeing an apartment only to be rejected upon reaching it. Walking in the rain is not fun, whether you are in America or anywhere else.

So you will have to dismiss my pessimism at the state of the world, because from where I am sitting it seems like we may be coming to the end of days. After all, as I am typing this I am sitting at a table with two Frenchmen. I mean me sitting with the French, I am pretty sure that's one of the signs of Armageddon.