how hot is it?

Every time I’m on calls with co-workers and friends they ask How hot is it? Are you staying cool?

And yeah, it’s hot. Like life-threateningly hot. Three-showers-a-day hot.

But what’s the alternative? (Realistically, other than snowbirding?)

I’d never have imagined myself living in the tropical South, and the heat and humidity are real, like the evil main character in a short story we’re all reading.

Walking outside is like swimming in a humid furnace, dog paddling along a sidewalk from one patch of shade to the next. Standing still becomes your own personal upright wading pool, with sweat trickling down your back, from your forehead into your eyes, from your butt crack down the backs of your thighs and into your socks and shoes.

I don’t mind a challenge but this is a tough one.

beauty amid the funk

Well it's hot and gonna stay that way for months.

(insert cry emoji)

I joked to someone today that going outside felt like wearing a coat and they laughed humorlessly and said Yeah like wearing a full length fur coat with a hood.

Anyway. It gives us all something to talk about but it is a factor in planning any kind of excursion outside of the house. Sunscreen or long pants or both? Hat? Sunbrella? Walk slowly along the shady spots or wait in the sun for an air conditioned bus? Or splurge for a Lyft? After the sun sets it's still hot, and nightlife feels like one long lazy dog paddle in the bath of humidity and sweat.

And amid all the stink and funk, it's beautiful.

thrillers and insight

I've been blown away by many of the books I've read this year. It's been a joy to read thrillers written by women, books that are fresh and weird and challenging and have something to say. 

Sara Gran has written three books about Claire DeWitt, "world's greatest detective." Gran lets her protagonist be an asshole, get beat up, do drugs, drink too much, and most of all, be curious and reckless and sarcastic and feel too much. The plots are convoluted and yet always satisfying, because a detail mentioned early on will come back and manifest and grow later in the story. I read all three books quickly and sadly, because they're short and I didn't want any of them to end. 

Here's a snippet from The Infinite Blacktop.

The other book I want to mention is Melanie Finn's The Hare. I won't even try to summarize the plot other than to say it's about how women do what women always do, which is cope. The protagonist starts out young and impressionable and the story follows her through a surprise pregnancy, abandonment, and pockets of love and violence. 

Here's a passage I found remarkable. 

I enjoy these writers, I envy their insight and their skill. They urge me on, to do better, work harder, feel more.

a breather

The smoky haze blanketing my town is finally blowing away. Enough with the sweltering days and muggy nights, please! Everyone has kennel cough and crusty eyes. We need a break.
*
Also, enjoy this semi-natural creation. This is not my usual shtick. Consider it a breather from the overstuffed ottoman and all of the above.