So, things have certainly been hotting up this week here in Phoenix. In fact, so much so that a 'severe heat advisory warning' (talk about stating the bleedin' obvious) has been in effect since last Monday and is not expected to be lifted until Tuesday evening . Temperatures have soared to over 110 deg Fahrenheit every day, and most days have been up to 115! (that's 46 C for the rest of the modern world ... in fact, why are we still on old money here? Anybody?). It doesn't look like there will be much respite next week either ...
To be honest, it hasn't been as bad as I was expecting. As long as you can run from air conditioning to air conditioning, it's do-able. The problem comes when you have to run errands and are driving short distances in between so the car doesn't get a chance to cool down. Finding a parking spot in the shade becomes a top priority (known as parking lot poker), even if that means walking a lot further. Other tips I have been given include carrying a towel to put over your seat (so you don't burn your legs) and carrying gloves to open the car door (so you don't burn your fingers). Really? I thought. Surely not. Well, I can tell you that after having suffered both of those this week, I think I will definitely be heeding those warnings from now on! Other points to note: never leave cans of soda for long periods in a hot car - they explode. Don't leave bottles of water in hot cars - they boil. Don't leave sunglasses on the dashboard - they melt.
I have also learnt that every trip requires careful planning in this extreme heat. For example, on Monday Ethan had an orthodontist appointment for X-rays and modelling of his jaw and teeth. It was an hour's appointment (that turned into an hour and a half ... oh yes, and $360), after which we had about an hour and a half to kill before a guitar lesson at a local Music Academy about 30 minutes away. Perfect. Just enough time to go and get something to eat inbetween and then on to the lesson. Oh but wait. That means the guitar would have to be left in a boiling hot car for close to 3 hours ... hmmm, definitely not a good idea.
So .... outcome:
1. Drive 15 minutes to dentist.
2. Get into red hot car 1.5 hrs later burning leg on seat.
3. Shout obscenities and drive back home again sweating like pig until car cools down (just as pulling into drive).
4. Kill an hour.
5. Collect guitar, get back into car and drive to music lesson.
6. Discover no shady parking spots so have to leave in blazing sun.
7. Ethan opens guitar case and gets out guitar. String broken so can't play it and has to borrow guitar bearing no resemblance to his own.
8. Return to car 30 minutes later, burning hand whilst opening car door.
9. Repeat obscenities.
10. Drive back home.
Fast forward to Wednesday. Ethan has to go into school to sit a Maths assessment so that they work out which stream he needs to go into. Conveniently, I managed to find a guitar repair centre 5 minutes from the school. Great. We could drop in there afterwards and get it restrung. Oh. But that would mean leaving the guitar in a hot car again. Grrrr! .... Repeat 1 - 10 above.
While all this was going on, Mr B meanwhile had been away in Florida & Georgia (I know, tough right? **rolls eyes**) on another work trip and was due back early evening on Thursday. Unfortunately the weather was also brewing up trouble of a different kind for him too though and his return flight was unable to take off due to massive thunderstorms over Atlanta. After a 6 hour delay (during which time he had befriended an elderly couple from Santa Barbara and helped them plan a trip to London & Paris, and a ASU graduate working for Ernst & Young who went away with a full development plan) he finally made it back at 1.30am!
As I finish this it is close to 10pm and still 107 degrees outside! Still ...
.......... at least it's a dry heat :D
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