Ruining Everything!

And then, God sends me a not-so-gentle reminder why we have to Get... Out... of... Here. Today, it's supposed to be around 90 degrees, and tomorrow, 100! You say, "But it's a dry heat, which isn't that bad, right?" Yeah, right. While it's true that dry heat is not as bad as humid heat in some ways, 100 degrees is still f-ing HOT!

Dry heat feels cooler on the skin when there is a breeze. It also allows the temps to drop dramatically at night. Neither of those things is helpful in the middle of a sweltering afternoon. What's more, our house, which stays pretty cool for most of the morning, almost chilly even, builds up heat in the attic when it's so hot, and then radiates that heat into the house for most of the cool nighttime hours... while we are trying to sleep. Nice, eh?

And the sun... that wonderful California sun that people rave about and come here to experience, it will burn you to a cinder if you are exposed to it. I've never felt anything like it. I know that those of you back east have been suffering through constant rain for some time, so this may sound like a blessing from heaven, so allow me to enlighten you a bit. In more humid climates, the atmosphere filters some of the heat from the sun's rays, so while the air itself may be hot and sticky, the sun is not unfriendly. So as long as it's not raining, you can be outside, enjoying the summer, except for those few weeks in late July and August when it just gets too hot to move. Without the atmospheric filtering provided by moisture in the air, the direct beams of the sun are scorching hot. I mean, even if the temperature is only in the 60s or 70s, your skin will burn in the sun. And I'm not talking about getting overly tanned; I'm talking about growing hot, as if you were holding it up to a heater or a fire. You can feel the direct heat almost melting or searing away your flesh. Lovely image, isn't it?

As soon as you step in the shade, you experience relief, but who wants to live their life in the shade? Not me. I'm an active kinda guy, and I like to get out and do things in the summer.

So, this weekend, we'll have to abandon the sweltering cauldron of the Valley and seek the cooler climes of the mountains or the coast. That will provide some temporary respite from the fury of Helios, but we don't always have the freedom to do that. Besides, once the heat sets in and the rain stops, this land will become baked and burned like a terracotta pot. All that is beautiful and green will wither away, leaving dust and misery.

Yep, our departure for the east can't come too soon.