It’s hot

The average high temperature forecast for this week is 97. The humidity won’t dip below 70%. The UV index is “10+ Extreme,” which I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. The ice in my glass melts in a few minutes. And that’s inside the house, which is cooled by two central air conditioning units.

I realized if I want to be comfortable on my jogs I either need to wake up at 5 a.m. or wait until 10 p.m. when it cools down to about 80. The third solution, which I chose during my days of funemployment, was to wake up at 5, skip the jog and go back to sleep until 9. Now that I found a summer job, it looks like I’ll be up at 5 and stay up.

Air conditioning is a strange addition to New Orleans. I’ve concluded that southerners aren’t used to the heat; they’re used to the air conditioning. Every home and store is freezing cold — or at least it feels that way after leaving the 100 degree heat. After living in a house with poor insulation for 18 months, I don’t know what to do with myself in constant coldness. It doesn’t feel right to sit in a 79 degree room on a sunny summer day. But I’m definitely not going outside.