There’s nothing worse than heading outside after a long day at work to find that it’s raining - and you don’t have an umbrella. While it’s horrible no matter where you are in the US, in the city, it’s got to be the worst - especially when you are stuck on a bar docked in the Hudson or on East End, blocks from the subway and not a single cab will pick you up. Luckily for me, big purses are trendy so I can easily fit an umbrella in my bag, but when it comes down to stuffing digital camera, wallet, magazine, ipod, phone and an extra pair of shoes in my bag, the umbrella is the first to go.
When you forget an umbrella, the last thing you want to do is waste $5 purchasing one from a guy on the street. Half the time, the umbrella is complete junk or you are already soaked and it won’t make a difference anyways.
My roommate recently introduced me to a service which reminds you to bring an umbrella on days it looks like it is going to rain. Umbrellatoday.com asks you to input your cell phone number, your zip code and the time you wish to have alerts sent to you. It’s completely free but standard text messaging rates apply. I’ve used it for a few weeks now, and I will have to say that it is right most of the time and I haven’t received any weird texts since joining. However, there’s no indication on the site however about how long the weather forecast is good for. While I wasn’t told at 8am to bring my umbrella out with me, I certainly needed it at 10pm last night. But as my umbrella was drying out on my floor this morning, it was definitely helpful to get that text reminder to pack my ‘brella (especially since in the morning I can barely function to get dressed, let alone look out my small window and see what the weather is like).
So if you want a service that’s like your mom reminding you to bring your umbrella as you head out the door, visit the site. It’s free and definitely helpful.
