The shining

Unless you live in New England.

Take a good, long look. During our May monsoon, this is the only sun you've seen in more than a week -- and the only one you may see for several more days. Instead of basking in it, we're coping with leaking roofs, overworked sump pumps, traffic nightmares, sewage backups, (un)seasonal affective disorder, binge eating, and an empty Fenway Park. Face it, we're depressed. Humming ''Here Comes the Sun" or ''Singin' in the Rain" can take you only so far.

What to do?

Comedian Steve Sweeney, who describes himself as being ''somewhere between cabin fever and homicide," planned last night to watch Andy Garcia's ''The Lost City," a film about pre-Castro Cuba in which the sun figures prominently. ''Give up on the idea of hope," Sweeney says. ''If you've lost the will to live, maybe there's a reason."

One thing none of us has lost is weight, what with all the snacking we do when cooped up. Charles Hardesty, owner of Totally Natural Training in Quincy, says people would do well to reach for the weights instead of the chips. ''Rather than consuming calories, burn calories," he says.

What we can't do is build an ark and sail south, or cover the entire city with a dome, so we'll have to find our own sunshine. Turn to Page E15 for some suggestions for the water-weary.

1. Watch the sun on the screen. There are plenty of sunshiney movies available for renting. Some recommendations: ''Under the Tuscan Sun" goes well with a super Tuscan wine. ''Black Orpheus" is set during Carnival in Rio. ''A Summer's Tale" is a romance set in Brittany. Then there's ''Pauline at the Beach," ''Swept Away" (the original, not the hideous remake with Madonna), and ''Beach Blanket Bingo." For a special treat, there's the pre-jelly-doughnut Elvis in ''Blue Hawaii," worth seeing for this classic line: ''You know what you need? A good spanking!" If you really want to be punished, ''Gerry," with Matt Damon, will take you to the driest, most endless desert imaginable and have you reaching for the water bottle. You'll never want to see the sun again.

2. Sweat it out. Take a Bikram yoga class. You'll forget it's raw outside while you're executing a series of 26 poses in a room heated to 110 degrees. Or head to one of the 20 Boston Sports Clubs for a yoga class, each of which begins with a ''sun salutation" comprising 12 poses linked together. ''They're energizing, and they bring a lot of prana, which is life force, through your body," says BSC spokeswoman Lisa Hufcut. You can download a free one-week pass at www.mysportsclubs.com.

3. Drive to Salem. If all the roads aren't flooded out, that is. Why? For the ''Painting Summer in New England" exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum. The show, which includes works by Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and John Singer Sargent, stars the sun, with a supporting cast of mountains, villages, and beaches.

4. Order a tropical drink. It may not be a beach blanket, but you can warm your insides perched on your favorite bar stool. (Hold the paper umbrellas, please!) We favor the South Pacific mojito at King's downtown. ''They have been moving nicely in this gloomy weather," says general manager Mike Mika. If you can't row over to King's, here's the recipe: one squeeze of fresh lime juice, one part Shakka Kiwi, two parts Cruzan pineapple rum, crushed mint leaves, splash of Sprite. Peking Tom's has a fabulous version of a tropical lemonade called a Barracuda Breeze, and the Blarney Stone has something called Pink Surf. Perhaps the most appropriate drink on the menu is the Suffering Bastard.

5. Eat where it's hot. Sunny restaurants? There are more than a few in the area. Some suggestions: Solea, a tapas place in Waltham whose name means ''sun." Sol Azteca (''Aztec Sun"), a Mexican restaurant in Brookline and Newton Centre. Summer Shack in Cambridge and Boston. Sunset Cafe, a Portuguese spot in Cambridge. Bonfire in the Park Plaza Hotel is worth hitting for the name alone.

6. Listen to bright music. There are the obvious choices: ''Summertime," ''You Are the Sunshine of My Life," ''I'll Follow the Sun," ''Here Comes the Sun," and anything by the Beach Boys. But for something different, try the Mosquitos' album ''Sunshine Barato." The title means ''cheap sunshine," and the music is a mix of American and Brazilian cultures with lots of weather and seasonal references. As one armchair reviewer wrote: ''The Mosquitos have put fun, love, and sunshine to a Latin beat . . . it delivers as promised." The more classically minded can put on Vivaldi's ''Four Seasons," but stop the CD when ''Spring" and ''Summer" end.

7. Tour the sun without leaving your chair. On the web, anything is possible -- just Google ''virtual sun tour." We found a good one at www.astro.uva.nl/demo/sun/kaft.htm. There, you can watch a time-lapse movie of a solar eclipse and another of the corona, whose temperature is 1 million degrees -- sounds comfy! According to the site, you'll see flames on the sun larger than 10 Earths, feel winds blowing 1,000 mph, and glimpse how the Earth eventually will be scorched by the dying sun. Don't worry. You'll be long gone by then.

8. Put some rays in your hair. With highlights. You can pay big bucks to a Newbury Street salon, or go to CVS and buy a home kit. They come with 24-hour emergency numbers should your hair turn green.

9. Take a bite of paradise. What better way to trick your mind -- and stomach -- into thinking it's warm outside than by indulging in ice cream. Cold Stone Creamery (there are several shops in the area) creates several concoctions aimed squarely at the idea of summer. Try the Cocoa Banana Cabana: banana ice cream with yellow cake, banana, fudge, and whipped topping all mixed in. Go for the large ''Gotta Have It" size. Then see No. 2, above.

10. Hibernate. Go to sleep for several days and dream of someplace else. You won't miss anything around here. When you wake up, it just might be sunny outside. Then again, it might not.