The first day of Summer sees us deep inside a heat wave here in Los Angeles. It was already very hot before 8:30 this morning, and the temperature continues to rise. Yesterday, I was booked to do some shooting for another episode of The Universe (History Channel), but happily it was cancelled due to the heat. I’m grateful since I was to be demonstrating aspects of Einstein’s Special Relativity by cycling at relativistic speeds* around a racetrack. More superpowers on display, or another remarkable feature of the Brompton? More later. This was to take place in the Valley, where temperatures were touching on 107 F, apparently.
Wandering the city on days like this can be fun. The first trick is to accept that it is super-hot and that you’re going to be sweating, and so dress appropriately. I always wear a hat too, and carry a filled water bottle, as it is easy to get dehydrated here. Everything then ends up being done in a dreamlike state. Everybody seems a little dazed, and lost in their own worlds. No one is in a hurry. It’s way too hot to argue, way too hot to run for a bus, so you wait for the next one if you’re close to missing one. You slowly walk to the bus stop, waiting in the shade of a post or a tree for buses, slowly getting on the bus…Novel at hand to read while waiting. Perhaps music or radio on headphones.
I think I’ll be cancelling my plans to do a longer weekend hike today or tomorrow. Slowly moving around the house doing repairs and gardening projects (before it gets too hot) seems to be the order of the day.
How is your official first day of Summer going to be spent? Happy Summer!
-cvj
I went on a hike yesterday with a friend in Sullivan Canyon. Bad, bad idea! Even though this is closer to the ocean and most of the hike is in a shaded grotto, I felt really exhausted and tired by the time I came back, which was around noon.
On Saturday I went to the AMC Theater in Century City Mall and saw “Iron Man”. I was delighted to see a very well made film. Watching a movie in a theater is the best way to cool off – the old fashioned way. I was planning on going to the Getty Villa one of these days.
Did a load of laundry, hung it out on my new clothesline. Went to the farmer’s market and the gym. Now waiting for my husband to serve me some grilled steaks. A pretty good day, I’d say. Happy solstice!
Watching the Euro 2008 match of today: Netherlands vs. Russia.
Happy summer to you!