I love the summer and I love the heat.
I love the feeling of warm sunshine on my back. I love warm mornings where the wind is soft and the light cast by the early morning sun is a pale gold.
I love swimming in the ocean and the instant drop in body temperature. I love floating on the waves with my painted toes bobbing on the surface, rising and dropping with the rhythm of the ocean. I love standing on the beach, with my feet greeting the waves and sinking in the sand as my skin prickles with the drying of salt water on my skin.
I love going barefoot. I love tanned skin and white smiles. I love ice-cream and coke spiders.
I love the smell of a storm after a long hot day. Steam rising from heat soaked surfaces, the smell of plants drinking deeply and breathing a cool sigh of relief.
I love hot summer nights and tall ice-filled drinks. I love sleeping with nothing but a sheet.
I love it. And even when the temperature rises to the low 40's as it has here in the last couple of days, I refuse to complain. Because at least it isn't winter.
And yet, there is one thing I hate about summer... because as the summer heats up and the inevitable complaining of summer-haters hits full force, the inside air temperature inevitably drops as the air conditioning is turned to high. There is no escaping as you enter shopping centres, movie theatres and offices and are subject to icy conditions that would be considered uncomfortable in winter.
I hate the over use of air conditioning. I spend my summer work days unable to escape and unable to appreciate the seasonal passing. I have to take additional clothes to avoid frostbite! I understand and appreciate that cooling is needed for a comfortable work environment, what I do not understand is having to contend with these goosebump inducing conditions at temperatures way below the comfort level.
And my discomfort is nothing in comparison to the environmental implications and additional drain on electricity supplies. Come on people... pull down the shades when the sun is at it's hottest, open the windows when there is a cool breeze, drink long cool drinks and take a swim if you can... embrace the seasons and soak up the summer while you can.
And please please please, turn down the aircon!
3 comments:
So true! Same in the summer here. I'm uncomfortable in high temperatures outside, and yet i still have to carry a sweater with me whenever I hit the shopping centre or a restaurant etc, since it's usually freezing inside! There's just no pleasing me…..
In Darwin airconditioning was not a problem as every building you walked into was quite comfortable. But in Melbourne it is a different ball game, it seems like they hit the panic button when the temperature rises. Last week we went into Woolworths at Mt Martha and it felt like it was two degrees below zero, I absolutely froze and had to go outside and stand in the sun.
I haven't visited you for a while and while scrolling down I found your little piece about the dreaded aircon. I die at work where the staff room is set to 17 degrees full blast and I have to wear an extra coat just to be able to eat my lunch without freezing to death.
Then, to make it worse, the damn thing is left on even when there is no one in the room. It must cost a fortune to keep going and when I ask for some money to buy Math's equipment I am told it's not in the budget. Maybe if they turned the machines off the kids may get the stuff they need. After our very long winter, I just wanted to feel warm a little bit.
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