Well, I have not wrote all that much this summer. Honestly, I have been exercising a lot, and making myself study for the PCAT. When I have written, it has been in a “Debbie Downer” type of mood. Although, I wouldn’t say that I am out of that mode, but I can say, I have gone totally emotionless, which is where I need to be right now.. and now for other things.

I like spring and summer in Texas, but sometimes, the heat is just too danged much. It has been 107 for over a week here with high humidities (that is approximately 41.1 degrees Celsius in metric terms). We keep getting placed under orange/red zone days, along with the National Weather Service placing us under extreme heat advisories. I have seen more people get ill in the last couple of weeks than in a while. Mostly, it is due to them doing over-strenous work and not drinking enough water. If you have never lived in Texas, then you do not understand what I mean by it being hotter than hell here.

When it is this hot outside, you don’t go and find the closest parking place, no, you go and find the shadiest, and hope for the best. The heat can get hot enough here that your rearview windows fall off the windshield, or the side windows burst. I can honestly say, if you live in this part of Texas, NEVER ever buy a car with leather or vinyl seats. That is just asking for trouble because people actually get BURNED by them. Speaking of burns, yes you really can fry an egg on the sidewalk.. I have seen it done before..though not in a while. Also, it is so hot outside, kids cannot go to the playgrounds without getting 3rd degree burns from the hot playground equipment. The ER’s are full of cases of burned children right now. In fact, I can tell you that I used to do marching band. I still play my trumpet for my own enjoyment, but I marched with a college marching band.

We always started in August..the hottest part of the year. The place we practiced was a marked off asphalt/black-top parking lot type area. The first year I marched with them, it was extremely hot, a bit worse than now. We practiced Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from 1-3pm.. yes the hottest part of the day, Tuesday evenings and Saturdays in half-uniform before the games. We were forbidden to drink sodas or to have milk products during marching season. Why you ask? Dehydration, stomach cramps, etc. When it is this hot outside, milk will sour in your stomach..not kidding. Although, we were made to take frequent breaks and drink plently of gatorade. That stuff really does help, believe it or not..because when it is this hot outside, I promise, you’re clothes become wringing-wet with sweat. The first sign that you get of dehydration/over-heating is light-headedness. Then, you feel like your head is actually cold, and at this point, I suggest finding a shady spot to sit, because it will not be but a moment or two later when you pass out. That summer, I can say we marched in 114 degree fahrenheit heat..and the asphalt was hot enough to burn your feet THROUGH your tennis shoes. Most of our shoes ended up with big scorched marks or holes in the bottom because they melted. I promise I am not exaggerating in the least little bit. Now onto more stuff..

So you suggest, hopping into the swimming pool right? WRONG! When it has been this hot outside for this long, the water is no longer cool, but more like a tepid, warm bath. Who needs hot tubs when you have the sun? LOL. Also, there has been a HUGE outbreak of a parasite call Crypto. For more on Crypto, go to http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/cryptofacts.htm. It is such a nasty little bugger. It started with a little girl going swimming and her parents not using swim diapers on her. Gross I know, but we have to educate people better. She then infected others swimming at the public pool..and they have in turn, passed it into other public pools. Now, there is a huge outbreak of it, and although the pools keep shutting down to hyperchlorinate, it just doesn’t kill it if those infected keep coming back for more. One public pool has started using UV light to cleanse their pools everynight. Apparently, the Crypto isn’t immune to UV light like it has possibly become to Chlorine. Besides that, swimming pools under so much heat breed all sorts of wonderful little critters right now. The best time is to swim late in the evening or early mornings before the water gets super heated. Then there are the lakes, ponds, etc.. During this time of year, we seldom get rain, so the water gets stagnant..and vwalla, you have another germ infested pool of water, and with water restrictions in place, you can forget the sprinkler.

So what else to do? Not much.. a good snow cone helps for a small amount of time, but just drinking a cool glass of water or iced tea is about it for now.