It Never Rains in SoCal

Except when it does...Monday brought us some cold, hard rain. The ride in was OK, and I found out that what is waterproof works well, what wasn't, didn't.
Here's what worked: Chrome messenger bag - waterproof inner liner. All my work clothes arrived nice and dry! Cheap rain jacket from Performance. It doesn't breathe, but the ride in was not long enough to overheat. My upper body stayed dry. Knee warmers - even though they got a little wet, still kept the knees warm.
What didn't work so well: Plain ol' cotton shorts. Should have worn cycling shorts this time, or water proof pants. Plain ol' shoes and socks. I underestimated how wet the shoes would get since I have fenders. The rain was just too much. Should wear baggies over the socks inside the shoes, or maybe even get some cheap galoshes for the short commute. Regular cycling gloves. The gloves were soaked by the time I got to work. Rear trunk. I had some spare gloves in the top compartment of my rear trunk. The rain soaked through and got those wet.
Luckily, I have an office where I can let stuff dry out. I used a small desk-top type fan to dry out the shoes. By the end of the day they were pretty much dry. I also used the fan to dry out the socks and gloves. A small fan or even a small heater with a fan set on low heat does a great job of drying out stuff.
The ride home was dry, but very gusty winds. For a moment I thought I was going to be blown off the road.
I would not want to ride in that type of weather every day, but once in a while it is fun, especially to see the looks on people's faces when they see that you rode to work in the torrential SoCal rains!