How I Deal

Today it hit 96 degrees here in Seattle. I am notorious for hating heat. I wear denim shorts from March til about November, and sandals from May til about October. Around the apartment, I am usually stripped down to a pair of gym shorts. I have a real problem radiating heat, so I generally prefer cool environments, relying on my natural endothermic reactions to keep myself warm. Winter is my favorite season, naturally.

Seattle is in the grip of a heat wave, about 15 degrees warmer than is usual for this time of year. And there's no escaping it.

So I've been dreading today since I heard the forecast last week. I've been working a temp assignment down in Queen Anne, which I like a lot. Doing some work in Excel, developing a scheduling template. Really having to delve into Visual Basic, and the challenge is energizing. The place is a Work Loft, so it's more or less a converted warehouse. Which is actually pretty OK. And I have an office of my own--how cool is that? Anyway, I took another fan in to work today, put it on the floor, to supplement the one I have on the desk. And the place is air conditioned to a temperature I like--a true rarity. I stopped off on the way in and picked up a half gallon of Newman's Own Virgin Pink Lemonade, figure I'd chug away at that and keep cool.

Unfortunately, there was a game today at Key Arena, so the parking garage (which usually goes for $6 a day) was full. So were the other pay lots. Was forced to park on the street, which meant I had to go move my car every two hours, literally chasing shadows around Queen Anne as I tried to park in the shade. The car was a hotbox, totally miserable. But the office was pleasant, and I drank nearly all of the lemonade. Stayed hydrated.

My plan for the evening was to go out to someplace air conditioned--like a movie theater. I was trying for a showing of 1408 at the Metro in the U District, but I wanted to get a good cold shower first. The apartment was 90 degrees when I got in around six o'clock (according to the thermometer I keep in the kitchen). I ran cold water in the bath, ankle deep, before I stepped in for a tepid shower that I would gradually cool down. I've found that it's important to cool off gradually: if I chill myself suddenly, my body just holds its heat deeper, and it can get harder to cool down meaningfully. I watered down in the shower, letting the bath accumulate, then turned off the water and settled in for a cold bath. It was nice.

But I wanted to get to the theater, so I set out at 6:30pm, trying to make it to the 6:40pm show. I didn't make it there til almost 7:00pm; traffic was dense, and I was stuck in the car sweltering for almost half an hour. This put me in a fairly sour mood. There wasn't anything else at the Metro that I wanted to see, so I just wandered around the U District, in 92 degree heat, trying to think of someplace air conditioned I could seek out. Dinner sounded about right, so I decided I'd find some air conditioned restaurant. That pretty much ruled out any bar or tavern, and most all the eateries in the U District. There's this Italian place I'd been meaning to try up on Lake City Way, so I went there.

Italian Pizza and Pasta--that's the name of the place. Pretty good, actually: had the tortellini with meat sauce. Dinner also included a cup of minestrone (fairly tasty, though I was feeling too hot for soup), a salad (with slices of salami and provolone, nice touch), and bread. And the pasta was great. I was feeling full by that point, since I went through half a dozen glasses of Coke in the course of the meal. Feeling satisfied, but dessert was included in the price. I haven't had raspberry sorbet in forever, and it was just wonderful. It was about 8:30pm, and still a good 86 outside. I determined to stop by the apartment, grab a Seagram's ginger ale, and go down to the beach at Golden Gardens.

Now, normally I don't care for beach. And you know I've got to be hot when I feel like taking off my sandals and walking in the surf. Don't get me wrong, the cold Puget Sound water on my feet was perfect. Only, the tide was coming in and the sand was choked with seaweed and kelp. I don't generally advocate walking barefoot through compost. But what the hell.

The view was great: the sun had just dropped below the horizon, and the clouds caught the light beautifully. And the water reflected the sunset, really nice. This shot doesn't quite do it justice, but there were plenty of others out there today snapping pictures, trying to capture something.

I felt good, a chugging down Seagram's and walking in cold wet sand after a nourishing meal. At that moment, the heat wasn't bothering me at all. When I sat down, shook the sand from my feet and put my sandals back on, however, I started to warm up. And I realized it had to still be eighty or so.

When I got back to the apartment around 10:30pm, it was still 84 inside. So I opted for another cold bath, and this time I knew I had to make it last, since the apartment was so warm. Again, ran the water at a cool temperature, allowing it to fill the tub as I rinsed off. This time I was going for a colder experience, still not frigid but enough to steal my heat. Idea here was to drop my core body temperature, not just relief the skin. Settled into a cool bath, with my head below water (no small trick in a bath tub this size--had to lift my feet out of the water in order to lay back flat). Just soaked there for about twenty minutes, it felt nice.

When I got out I felt like I'd had a massage. The living room was still warm but not oppressingly so. In fact, by a little after midnight the temperature inside had dropped to about 76, not much worse than an average daytime temp. Watched Jon Stewart and had another ginger ale, and I was feeling good. Went to bed around 1:00am, and slept without any covers or sheets. When I woke up the next morning, I felt great. I'm not sure if a cold bath will do that every time, but the buzz certainly stayed with me. I no longer live in fear of hot days here in Seattle.