Rainy season means mosquitos

The rainy season is upon us. If you can't see the sky, it means it's raining. If you can see the sky, it means it is going to rain in an hour or so.

Local say Jakarta has two seasons - wet and wetter. I agree that it has two seasons, though we would differ on the classification. For me, the seasons are mosquitoes, and no mosquitoes.

I went ten months without a mosquito bite. I now get one or two a night. We've installed mosquito netting over all of the beds. This has limited the feasts to our living room. We're also trying to use the purple mosquito zapping lights, which makes for some interesting shadows and not much reduction in mosquito activity. I think the mosquitoes of Jakarta have evolved with "light avoidance" genes.

I've heard the rainy season can also bring flooding. My first day on the job ended in enough rain for my car to leave a wake. I've heard stories of the grocery store by my house having the first floor completely submerged with security transporting customers to dry land by having them stand in the shopping carts as they wade through chest-deep water in the parking lot. This year, we seem to be getting less rain than normal. Must be that global warming I keep hearing about.

Two more rounds of visitors on their way. My father-in-law arrives on Monday and stays with us for two weeks. My wife's aunt will arrive five days after he leaves and stay for a week. Can't miss home when home keeps coming here...