Sunday Afternoon Malaise on the Road

By some accounts, I'm not very socially aware. For example, I've only recently discovered that others are not as sensitive to rain and cloudy weather as myself. Some people, strangely, enjoy it. For me, a rainy weekend afternoon at home is a guaranteed downer.

Like many other tendencies, this effect is all the greater when long-term traveling. That is, when your days are not stuffed to the gills with activities and site seeing. Especially if you happen to be staying in a hotel room, i.e., a single room that doesn't allow for differentiation of activities throughout the day. At home, we the weather sensitive have built up an arsenal of defenses: foods, entertainments, activities, maybe calls to friends. But when you're on a different time zone, away from your favorite comforts, the lazy patter of rain against the roof with a background of general greyness can be suffocating.

On the other hand, if you're in a hotel, there's a non-zero chance there is a gym. And, of course, there is the standard recourse of movies, books, games. And they help somewhat; but this remains an obstacle to conquer.

Here is a question — is it better to be married to a fellow rain hater, to share and amplify your misery, or to a rain lover, to counteract your gloom but also irritate you with their smug joy and desire to “smell the post-rain air”?