All of the energy that should have been put towards teaching was instead put towards trying not to burst into flames. It was only a 3 day week with kids, but I am wiped. All the errands and chores got done tonight. I'm now sprawled out in front of the fan and am not moving until Monday morning. A cooling trend is supposed to arrive early next week. I'll try to be back among the living by then.
THAT'S HALF WAY TO BOILING WATER. What the hell is that city doing where it is. And bringing kids to schools must be a health issue.
ReplyDeleteOur hottest was 23C/74f this summer, with most days about 15c/60f.
60!?!? That makes me quite jealous.
DeleteA couple of months ago I read an article about the temp changes here and it predicted that the valleys were in for more 90+ days than we've ever had before. Yesterday was the hottest we've had this year, and it was miserable!
Most places do have ac so it's bearable if you're not out too long. Unfortunately, the ac in my classroom was not working right and it was anywhere from 78-80 most of the week which is just too hot trying to engage that many little bodies.
It never fails for the temp to skyrocket the first day of school. We started on wed with kids and it was 105. Monday it was in the 80s, Tuesday was 90s...by the first day of school it was sweltering. It's definitely taking its tole.
I don't think I would survive.
ReplyDeleteBless your heart. You know I can sympathize. The past two weeks here have been brutal, as well, and when you factor in the humidity....well, let's just say it's draining. (why do they persist in telling us the heat index/wind chill factor? Actual temps are always bad enough!)
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me when I think back to my childhood and remember I didn't have AC at school until High School! I'm not positive about Jr. High, but I know my elementary school was unairconditioned. Of course we never began back then until after Labor Day, but still...
I will admit, the humidity you all get might actually be worse. I do believe, "At least it's a dry heat" is mostly true. Although, once you get past 100, it's just bad. :) My weather app today said high of 102 currently 106. That always makes me wonder too. If it's currently 106, 102 is no longer the high?!?! And the whole "feels like". In my opinion, if the "feels like" temp is different than the actual temp it's time to adjust the actual temp. The "feels like" one is the only one I care about. :)
DeleteI grew up and went to school here and yes it was always hot when we went back to school, but not like this and not for as long as it is now. Our summer heat is definitely worse than it was when I was in school. Regardless, we've always had air. The Pacific Northwest has been dealing with over the past month - a lot of places don't have air because they are generally cool but they've been super hot this summer and are dying without it.
Back in the day, though, people weren't acclimated to being so cool in the summer and had different ways of dealing with it. The first house I bought was built in the early 50s and had an attic fan in it. Amazing what ventilation you could get by opening the windows and turning that thing on! Of course you drew in all the pollen and your share of bugs (depending on the mesh on your screens), but it still made things pleasant when not using the AC.
DeleteBefore that, people didn't insulate their houses as well as we do and kept the windows open far more. I know nowadays some blame many respiratory ailments on the fact we have our houses so "closed in": think weather stripping, storm doors/windows, triple-glazed panes, etc. Of course that's what we want now when paying to keep our homes cool or warm!
Yes, I do agree with correlation to respiratory issues and the house being closed. I know I don't feel as well just in general when the house has been closed up for days at a time. I can handle the heat if the nights at least cool and the air can be turned off in lieu of opening the windows. My windows haven't been open in a week, and it just feels stagnant and blah.
DeleteA couple of years back, I researched having an attic fan put in as I had heard how beneficial they can be, but the consensus seemed to be that with the high heat it wouldn't do much.
All I know, is I'm looking forward to fall...which didn't come until January this past year...even so, looking towards fall. :)
You have an absolutely brilliant exhibition up at the Getty Center on Greek bronzes. You have 'stuff' in that building that will never be seen together again, I suspect.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/power_pathos/
It's funny you should mention that exhibit as I went on their site a week or so ago just to see what was going on there and saw the info about it. I don't know much about that time period or bronze work so didn't think much of it. It looks like a good one ya think? There are a bunch of talks and events around it. It might be worthwhile to attend one of those for the information.
DeleteThe Getty is such a pain in the neck to get to. It's about 20 miles away and can take an hour or more to get there due to traffic. We get lazy about doing anything over there just because of the time it eats up, which is a shame.
It's what every sculptor since, including Michelangelo, has been trying to emulate, and failing spectacularly. The movement in these figures is unbelievable.
DeleteIn general, when you see these in their home places they are surrounded such that you cannot step away from them and truly view them. But looking at how the Getty is displaying them you can truly view them as intended. They are things that stick in the mind too.
Hmmmm, you may have sold me on it! :)
DeleteYikes that's too hot! Is your air conditioning still controlled by the district office? The high school gym was here and it was always boiling sitting in the stands for basketball games...then, someone decided to check the thermostat and it was not working...so when the district thought it was 68 degrees it was more like 85!
ReplyDeleteI don't have to go in until this Friday...and it is a float day so I can work Friday or a Monday at the end of the year...I choose Friday :)
I hope it cools off for you soon!
Oh, they took our control of the thermostat away about 14 years ago. They can trust us being around kids all day but not with HVAC control! All week my principal sent in reports of the temp in my room (we supposedly got new ACs in our classrooms a week or so ago) but nothing was ever done. The classes on either side of me didn't get above 70 this week and mine was almost 80. We had a couple of teachers whose air went out completely, so it could have been worse. (Trying to stay positive...but the reality being in that room this week made me want to cry.)
DeleteI don't blame you on the floating day! We go in anyway, you might as well use the day they give you.