Friday, June 16, 2006
it's the heat, it's the humidity, it's Jersey
Apparently, I've given the impression to a few people that I like this time of year. I do not. What we all liked about it when we were kids was circumstantial: the start of summer vacation. & for kids there's only a brief time before the "back to school" displays begin popping up. But these weeks from late June well into July are why the idea of residing year-round in Florida does not appeal. No matter where you live in central or north Jersey, you're close enough to blast furnace parking lots & highways to feel them even in a damp basement. The shore doesn't always bring relief, if you're lucky enough to have relatives living there who also welcome you; there are days when the ocean is breathless, you can be in the water freezing from the waist down & the rest of you not only sweltering but also attacked by the first swarms of green flies & noseeums. A backyard cookout on a 100 degree July 4th is fun? & the kids nag you to pile in the car & drive to the fireworks as the temperature drops to a pleasant 90 in the mosquito-laden dusk, & find a parking spot, too. I long for another Krakatoa volcanic explosion, which caused several so-called "years without summers" across the northern hemisphere. Which I take to mean that July was like early May & August was like the two weeks after Labor Day.
What a drag. A friend drove me over to buy an AC today & I impulsively up'd to a 7000 BTU unit because it was only a few dollars more & a far more efficient size for this room. But as soon as I opened the box here I knew I'd made a BIG mistake. There's no way I can safely install the thing. I can't mount metal brackets in the granite outside sill, & a few measurements warned me it just hangs out too far to trust resting it on wood blocks. It would be dangerous, & if I went ahead the landlord would likely & sensibly ask me to remove it. I left it in the box. The smaller 6000 would've been OK even though I'd have to keep it really cranked up & settle for taking the edge off the heat & humidity rather having a really cool room. I'm very upset.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
What a drag. A friend drove me over to buy an AC today & I impulsively up'd to a 7000 BTU unit because it was only a few dollars more & a far more efficient size for this room. But as soon as I opened the box here I knew I'd made a BIG mistake. There's no way I can safely install the thing. I can't mount metal brackets in the granite outside sill, & a few measurements warned me it just hangs out too far to trust resting it on wood blocks. It would be dangerous, & if I went ahead the landlord would likely & sensibly ask me to remove it. I left it in the box. The smaller 6000 would've been OK even though I'd have to keep it really cranked up & settle for taking the edge off the heat & humidity rather having a really cool room. I'm very upset.
Labels: weather
