27 June 1999: I Hope This Isn't the Norm

Sunday, 27 June 1999:

I Hope This Isn't the Norm

It got really, really hot today. Probably the high 80s, maybe as high as 90, and the sun was just brutal. That temperature doesn't sound that impressive, I know, but it felt quite bad. Jefferson spent much of the day under the bed, where it did seem to be cooler.

The newspaper says it's going to get even hotter the next couple of days and stay there for most of the week. Yuck. I hope the cats will be okay. We always weathered this sort of stuff in Wisconsin by turning on the air conditioner, but A/C is rare in the Bay Area, and I don't have it here.

Of course, my Mom still lives in the house I grew up in, and it doesn't have A/C, and I remember the humans, cats, and dog dealing with much worse temperatures - and humidity! - than this on some summers. It was not comfortable, but not deadly or anything. I just worry about my cats. They're my responsibility, after all.

One good thing is that there's a big temperature swing at night, so sleeping is actually quite comfortable. The relatively low humidity in the area probably helps a lot, making the swing seem bigger than it is.

But, I hope it won't be this bad all summer. I was sort of hoping for a summer of highs around 80. That's what the climate out here is supposed to be, right?

This afternoon I drove up to Ben's place, where a party was being thrown mainly because a couple of Madison friends of John's were in town. (How it ended up being at Ben's place, I'm not sure. But he and his roommates seem to like entertaining - especially when someone else is cooking, as was the case here.) It was not much cooler up there, although they live halfway up the peninsula. So after dinner and sitting out in the sun afterwards, I felt quite mellow, rather tired, actually. The food was good, but we wrapped things up not long after dessert (which was - get this - strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar. Tasted pretty good, too!).

I came home and read the newspapers of the last couple of days, and generally felt sleepy. So this entry isn't much. And I'm going to head to bed now. Snore.

Michael Rawdon (Contact)