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Cold shower for a hot day
Every day gets longer and longer until Summer Solstice on 21st June. Every day gets warmer and warmer. I am told that mosquitoes will soon come out because of the many canals in the Netherlands.
Staring at the cloudless sky, that stretch of unending horizon which takes me back to Kenya four years ago, I think of how I've been waiting for this day for months, even escaping to Asia in April because I couldn't stand the long, cold and dark winter. And now, warm weather is finally here to stay. Hurray! Hurrah!
I merely want to feel the sun's warmth on my skin but not get tanned by the it. When I hang out my laundry to dry, I wish I could be the damp laundry. They don't get dark from the sun. The only way I can enjoy the sun is to sit between my hanging laundry or in the shade. Otherwise, I have to wait for sunset when the sun is weak.
At sunset, I start my run. The purple azaleas have all shriveled up and died. At their peak a few weeks ago, they were the inspiration for my choice of the colour purple for June's Bon Journal entries. Are people like flowers too? Those that inspire you only do so for a fixed period of time. Afterwards, they shrivel up and die? But in their most inspiring moments, they are beautiful and seemingly immortal and fearless.
When I return from my run, I do the sit-ups under my grand piano. Thousand-one. Thousand-two. Thousand-three..... I dream of the day my stomach looks and feels like a barbecue grill, fat-free and awesome to touch.
It's too hot for a warm shower, so I decide to take a cold one instead. This reminds me of the cold showers I had to take in Singapore - three times a day to cool myself down. I didn't believe in air conditioning, so cold showers were the remedy to combat the hot and humid tropical weather.
After my shower, I sit in front of the Macintosh working on my compositions. I am wearing a cotton top I made from the sleeves of my brother's high-quality business dress shirt. I like to sew and create something useful out of old clothes. In this case, the shirt was hardly old, only too small for my brother. It thrills to think that I can squeeze into one long sleeve!
I am still hot. I open all the tall windows and the door to the balcony. There is no breeze. It's not humid, just hot. I continue to sweat while sitting still and staring at the computer screen.
Later I learn that taking cold showers causes your body to produce heat --- which makes you sweat even more.
9 June 2004 Wednesday
Related entries & links:
On weather
Summer solstice at sunset
Of Singapore slings and stings
Purple azalea day
analyticalQ weather links
Above, the home-made white top, worn at Universal Studios Sept 2003
Reader reaction:
An interesting experience for laymen to learn something from.
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