The Ice Man Cometh (And Passes Out in the Living Room)
It's July. It's my birth month. Ironically enough, it's also my least favorite time of the year. The heat is unbearable (pun intended). The humidity makes showering three times as necessary and five times less effective. The bugs are out in force (especially the stinger-assed hell beasts - aka wasps). The sun has become a searing murder globe in the sky. It's Hell on Earth but without Tom Ellis as Lucifer to at least make it interesting. (What a world! What a world!)
When I was a kid I was able to overlook these drawbacks because July meant an open pool and no school. Our house was well-equipped with central air conditioning. Between the season pool pass, cable TV, my 8-Bit Nintendo, and my library card, my summers were awesome (give or take the blockhead bully at the pool who eventually ruined that experience for me and ran me off from the one physical activity I ever actually enjoyed).
As an adult? Oh, screw-the-hell-out-of-that. Bring on the crisp chill of Fall, hoodies, early evenings, walking weather, apple cinnamon everything, and the anticipation of Halloween. Until then, give me a cold dark cave to hide in. This middle aged polar bear doesn't Do this shit worth a damn anymore.
The point? Right, the point. I had one lying around here somewhere. Let me.. Just a second... (checks pockets) Ope, yep, here it is...
My progress on the book has hit yet another wall.
So I took a summer position with the Pony Express Museum of Seneca, KS with the intention of reversing my cash flow problem while keeping my afternoons and early evenings free to write. I even got permission from my supervisors to work on my writing projects at the museum when I didn't have job related duties to take care of. The opportunity screamed win-win, so of course I jumped on it.
What I didn't anticipate was how much working in an unairconditioned building would suck the life right out of me. The last few weeks, especially, have pretty much consisted of me doing what I can for the museum at a pace that won't trigger heat sickness, and then coming home to die in the climate controlled confines of my apartment. (Seriously though, roofers, road workers, factory folk, how the f**k do you do this s**t every day?!?) Several times this included sleeping for multiple hours, where as this week has at least been limited to binge-watching "Stranger Things" and "Marvel's Jessica Jones" on Netflix. The last three nights I haven't even been able to do my walks because the heat has triggered a chronic throbbing headache that comes and goes regardless of whether or not I'm hiding in the AC. (It reminds me of the pressure headaches I used to get as a kid when I jumped off the diving board too much at the pool.)
Next week is supposed to be significantly better than this week, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get back on track. With 99 Degree (F) temps and a Heat Index of 107, I don't see the current situation improving much until then. To be clear, I wouldn't say I'm exactly "focused" on writing this Blog entry. (Is it bad when you taste sounds? Why do the shadow things disappear when I look at them?) I just knew it was Friday and I'm well overdue for an update. An actual coherent chapter certainly isn't in the cards at the moment. I'm not even sure this Blog is coherent, but then again, that's not exactly new.
For those of you who actually LIKE this weather, I hope you're enjoying your sunburns and cookouts, and lawnmowing, and baseball, and water sports, and camping, and... you know, whatever it is that makes this soul-sapping bullshit appealing.
For the rest of my fellow ice bears, stay cool and don't melt out there. I've heard a rumor that Winter is coming. (Which in this area means our one week of legitimate Fall weather shouldn't be too far off!) Keep hydrated, and hold on until then, my friends! We can do it!
