I got a last minute request to feed Van's cat. I'm serious when I say last minute. By the time I found out about it, she was already in Siumu. She left me her cell phone, the key to her flat and 10 bucks.

I was sort of bummed about having to make the trip up to Vaivase Uta because I was really looking forward to two straight days of doing nothing but tafao in my fale. But in truth, I needed the exercise and I was getting a little stir crazy on Easter Sunday.

I waited until about 430 to get on my bike because the weather has been insanely hot and Van lives way the fuck up the hill in Vaivase Uta and I didn't want to kill myself over this little kitten. I think it took me about 35 minutes to get my hill and up and over to hers, and only that long because I made a few wrong turns on my way. It was my first time in Vaivase during the day.

I opened the door and her little kitten Galo came flying out, so happy to see me. I poured him some of the dry food I picked up at Lucky's and put out some of the mackerel that Van said I would find on the top shelf of the fridge. Result, happy kitten.

Van also wanted me take a look at her malfunctioning laptop. I broke it out, hooked it up to the wall and went to work.

Meanwhile it starts raining. Serious rain. Like rain that washes away villages. I had no choice but to wait it out.

Van's computer wasn't cooperating. It's got some errors on the hard drive and scan disk doesn't want to run all the way through. It thinks other applications are running and continually restarts. I settled in, turning on the radio and grabbing "Out of Africa" from her bookshelf.

Darkness started to settle in on Vaivase and I was no closer to getting the computer fixed. When the rain abated slightly, I took a chance and hit the road. I could have stayed the night, but one of my kittens was out in the cold and I needed to get back to rescue her. Or so I felt.

The street was a flowing river. It was so dangerous. I must have been out of my mind. Within a few seconds, the rain came down harder than before. I couldn't see shit through my glasses and I was soaked. Even though I was going as slow as I could, my tires were throwing up mud and rain from the street so I was getting it from above and below. The good news was the rain sent the dogs searching for cover and I didn't get attacked.

At the bottom of the hill I was almost run over from behind by a car that didn't see me. I only averted disaster by stacking in the grass along the sidewalk. Then came the uphill run to my house, not pleasant under normal circumstances, it was downright miserable in this weather. I did it make without any major incident, which is lucky as hell. I found Filemu in the protective custody of my neighbor Eunice and all was right in the world.