I hate heat.
This is something I rarely do in LJ, but it is time for a real rant. You have been warned. I cut very little slack in regards to this issue. Don’t read it if you can’t respect my feeling about it.
I don’t do well with the heat. It has something to do with my blood sugar problem and my super sensitivity to things. And many people think they have a clue and so #@$^&$#@$^ don’t. So here is my rant about the last three days.
To give those poor people who haven’t had my heat issues drummed into them in person, here is a scale of temp and what happens to me.
65-73 Good. Optimum is 68 degrees. I can operate in these temperatures just fine.
74-80 Uncomfortable. Hot, little run down, whiny.
80-85-ish. Not doing that well. Hard to think, Very cranky, little weak, easy to frustrate.
85-95 Can’t think. Panicky. Tremendous effort to move. Feeling totally defeated. Sick.
Over 95 Suffer more. I will not let this happen.
I am not exaggerating or being over-dramatic about this. No, it is not the same for you. It is not a matter of not liking the heat. It is an actual physical intolerance of heat. There are a few people out there that have this much of an issue.
Heat has cause me to move from family and friends including losing a wonderful boyfriend. Colorado has developed summer temps in the 90s instead of the high of 80 from when I was growing up. I have lost almost all contact with the people that made my life worthwhile to that point because of the move away from them. I currently have different wonderful people in my life but the heat forced me into the move and thereby I lost what I had.
I am greatly restricted. There are only a few cities I can even consider a move to if I should need to move. I don’t feel safe leaving the Bay Area in the summer, and today, I don’t feel safe leaving the area around SF. I can’t work Faire. The last couple of years I haven’t even been able to consider going to faire.
It has been unseasonably hot the last three days. My apartment has been a steady 80 degrees no matter what I do. It doesn’t cool down, even at night. I have been amazed that I have been able to handle it. I work in a very cool office building in SF. When I leave the office, the temp seems very warm but doesn’t seem to be taking me offline. I have taken many cold showers to keep cool when I am home. I have a unheated waterbed. Normally it has 2 blankets and 3 comforters below the bottom sheet and it has the same temp properties of a normal mattress. The only way I have been able to sleep the last three nights has been to strip all but two blankets from under the sheet off one side of the bed. This is cool enough to draw heat away from me without making one side cold and the other hot. It took lying in bed until 2am on a worknight the first night before I figure this out. I have two fans going at all times. Lights are on only when absolutely needed. The humidifier is on one of the fans almost all the time. I have been able to survive ok but I think I am wearing out.
Today, there is a gathering of friends for a drivein movie that I have been really looking forward to. I really want to go. But I don’t think I can because it is in a hot area of the bay (current temp 90). And I would be spending the night in another hot area of the bay (current temp 80) in a place with no air conditioning. I have been told by three different people in three different occasions that it should be ok because today is cooler than it was yesterday. Yes, Hellatiously hot has been downgraded to Too Damn Hot. I think I have decided to stop talking to people about it because I don’t want to hear “it is cooler today” as a solution again. Cooler doesn’t matter because it is a relative term. I have to deal in absolutes. It is in all likelihood going to be too hot. It is right on the border. It has dropped about 5 degrees in the last two hours. This almost makes it harder. If it was yesterday, I would say “Too bad can’t go” and it would be the right decision. Now it might be ok, or it might be too hot. If it is too hot, I will be far from home, surrounded by people that don’t really have a clue to this problem and I would have to explain my bad behavior during a hard time for me. People will want to help and I will be snapping at them because they are doing it all wrong. I just don’t want to risk it but I lose out on something I want. Baaaah. And for others, it is just a grin and tolerate issue. I wish I could. The hotter I get, the more unreasonable I get, and I hate being unreasonable so I start cutting my nose off to spite my face. People want to help but don’t know how. And I don’t know how either. What I need is it to be cool enough and short of being tied to an AC unit, I don’t know how to do that.
So I am spending today like I have been spending the last three days, waiting moment by moment for the heat to go away so I can have a life again. I feel very defeated and hopeless. I feel like I will be this way forever but my logic tells me that I will get better once the heat is over.
For the recored, I don’t like cold. I can just deal with the cold fine so I don’t mind it so much. And it is better to be cold than Hot.
Well, I do hope that you are able to come out and play with us this evening.
And you know that there will be no shortage of men dying for the privilege of sensually running ice cubes over your body, should it prove necessary.
And you know that there will be no shortage of men…
*Ahem*!! I can think of some women as well.
Although the heat doesn’t get to me as badly, I sympathize. I am that way about humidty. I grew up near the dessert, where it was very hot but also very dry. I can’t go certain places during the summer (like Florida) because I choke on the humidity.
I don’t know if it makes a difference, but if you can make it down, I am happy to put you into an air conditioned vehicle and make sure that people keep you comany should the heat be too much for you.
*Ahem*!! I can think of some women as well.
Men, I can come up with a few that might actually be interested. Women, I am completely clueless about. Am I being blind (Oblivious Girl here) or are you just pulling my leg (Gullible Girl is another of my aliases)?
It turned out best that I didn’t go. Even though the temps might have gotten to something tolerable, my ability to deal with anything was completely shot after working on overdrive for three days. Sat and Sunday were quite the emotional and physical rollercoaster. I am impressed that I was able to deal with everything as well as I did and that is the only positive thing that came out of the three days of heat. If I had my druthers, I would not go through that again. It feels very traumatic. And I know we will have a repeat in Sept/Oct.
Baaaah. At least I know I will survive. I keep forgetting that in my panic every year.
~pirategrl
I need to amend this. There were positive things (both work and personal) during those three days but they are completely unattached in my brain. When thinking about the heat, I forget the few things that were good because they are recorded in a completely separate brain-file with few to no links. Of course all of them occurred when the temp around me was cool.
~pirategrl
And you know that there will be no shortage of men dying for the privilege of sensually running ice cubes over your body, should it prove necessary.
Oh really? I am unaware of this plethora of men to which you refer. I can think of maybe two. OK, maybe a couple more that I don’t want to encourage. Does that rack up to no shortage? Are there others?
Since I am very temperamental when overheated and this would be a new thing, maybe a dry run would be in order to work out the
kinksdetails. Some could have ice, some could have palm fronds. I have a great elephant leave plant at my place with 3-4 ft leaves that would work nicely. A cooling blanket/sheet for me to lounge on. Iced grapes? Frozen drinks? I think I could get behind this idea.If your comment were true.
~pirategrl
Oh really? I am unaware of this plethora of men to which you refer.
Oh, c’mon. In this crowd? All it would take would be a general announcement that you needed an ice-servant, and men (and women!) would line up. You know it takes very little to activate the sensuality of this crowd. And, y’know, touchin’ girls…
Blarrgh… heard you guys were having a heat wave!! So damn sorry!!!
We’re actually having the first nice June I remember here in a decade – like where the weather stays under 80 degrees and it actually rains in the afternoon like it did when we were kids?
Honey – if heat does it to you, then don’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks – take care of you first!! Everyone needs a functioning, happy Gina – not an unhappy meltdown Gina!
I’m with you on heat v. cold – My argument has always been that I’d rather be too cold than too hot – cold? I can put on more layers, build up the fire, sit in the tub… whatever! hot? you can only strip off so many layers… or be trapped inside with A/C if you’ve got it…
Fun things that one vile summer a couple of years ago taught me -
)
1) Get thineself a 5 gallon bucket – put water and ice cubes in the bucket – put next to bed or at foot of bed – when sleeping or just lying on the bed, put feet in bucket… this will actually help to bring your body temp down too! Plus, it doesn’t interfere with sleeping (although your feet will get wrinkly!
2) Don’t worry about getting damp – take a bathtowel, get it wet (not soaking, just dampish) fold up and put in the freezer until it’s stiff but not rock solid – put under you on bed – lie on while feet are in bucket – point fan over you so that evaporating water from towel meets airstream from fan creating swampcooler effect
3) Frozen lime bars (at the grocery store) help – like a margarita without the alcohol, and not sugary/sticky like popsicles
Hugs!! Can’t wait to see you next month!! And wishing you a nice, arctic cold-front to chase that icky heat away!
Thank you so much.
Good ideas. I have been planning on replacing my waterbed with a real bed because of back issues and now I am thinking I better not. By stripping the bed down to only a few layers underneath me, I approximate the wet towel and bucket affect.
And, I had forgotten that I had frozen sugar-free flavored ice thingys in the freezer.
Your suggestions also reminded me I could have made a frozen smoothie.
I will keep these for future reference.
~Gina
Sorry I wasn’t helpful either. It’s always hard when you know the problem but can’t figure out any workable solution. I just hope you know that we’re here for you if you do think of anything you need. We all want to make the Gina happy!
Gina,
I understand these problems. it is hard to come up with ideas when your brain shuts down. Even the cats where complaining.
Nicole in San Jose
Hi-ya girl. I noticed you had friended me so I nabbed you back. I forgot you told me you had an LJ account.