You can call me Betty, or...
The Summer Bet
It all started with a bet. Sam and I had been hearing that some of our friends had turned on their air conditioners pretty early in the summer season. (April, even?)
We bet that the other one of us would turn on the air conditioner first.
I personally, have gone most of my summers with little to no air conditioning in my house. My dad and I both have sinus problems and the air conditioner usually makes them worse. Sam has usually had air conditioning every summer, no problems there.
The thing is, it’s turned into a sort of…quest. We come up with creative ways to stay cool, and share them on Twitter with our friends. We have also gone out to treat ourselves by using public building’s air conditioning or breezy patios. We’ve gone to the mall, my favorite coffee spot (a lot more than usual) & taken walks in the rain, just to name a few.
I’ve set up a fan in almost every room, and if I’m going to stay in one room for a while when it’s hot, especially in the kitchen, I’ll bring a fan with me. I find the most difficult thing to do is find creative ways to make meals. There has been a lot of microwaving (least amount of heat given off in the process), eating salad, frozen grapes, fruit, icea tea and surprisingly, oven baking pizza. (This is the easiest hot meal to cook; set the temp to preheat, walk away & wait for it to beep, but pizza in, walk away & wait for it to beep, take it out and leave it be until it’s not SUPER hot.)
One huge thing I did was cut off my hair. It was longer than shoulder length and now it’s at my chin. It was drastic, but it turned out cute.
The one thing I worry about most, is how our cat is handling it. I always keep the basement open for her (which is at least 15 degrees cooler than upstairs), leave fresh water out, and leave at least one fan going. I talked to the vet today and they said under those conditions she should be just fine. As Sam put it, cats roamed ancient Egypt a long time ago and they were peachy. (Heck, even worshiped!)
I have gotten quite a few comments on our choice not to use the air conditioner in our home this summer. “I couldn’t do it!” or “You’re crazy!” are the most common reactions. I understand most people can’t fathom the idea, but I’m also a litte taken aback.
Most of the people who think that our idea is ludicrous don’t realize that we are going against some odds here:
a) We are both “bigger” people who get overheated more easily than smaller people
b) We can afford to use the air conditioner comfortably, we’re just choosing not to.
What did people do before air conditioning? They got by. So will we. (The answer to that question is used fans & prayed/hoped for rain!)
I guess my main point is just because you can use something all of the time doesn’t mean you necessarily should.
And with that, I’m off to take my 3rd cold shower of the day. (JK JK… It’s only the 2nd)
