It’s So Hot

It’s rarely this hot and humid in Minnesota. Yesterday afternoon’s dew point was almost 80 degrees. The highest temp I saw yesterday on my thermometer was 95 degrees. It began sliding after hitting that high note, because clouds rolled in.

The humidity hung low yesterday morning. I had condensation on my patio door, something I’ve never seen before. When I drove to workout, my car’s windows kept fogging up, and when I left workout, my sunglasses kept fogging up. Holy cow!

I don’t think the dew point is as high today, but the temperature sure is. My thermometer topped out at 99.3 degrees. Wow!

And I’m still sitting home making no money. The shutdown is unofficially over, but now the GOP legislators are going over the details in the budget bills. Once the bills are ready, then the governor will call a special session, hopefully, the bills will be passed, the governor will sign them, and I can go back to work.

One of reasons the governor didn’t approve the budget before July 1 was that there was a lot of policy language in the budget bills; policy language like eliminating 15% of state workers, bans on gay marriage, ban on abortion, etc., etc.

A lot of the legislators are first term, the GOP has the majority in both houses by slim margins, and we have a DFL governor. Older legislators (from both parties) have stated with the level of inexperience and the reluctance to reach across the aisle to cultivate relationships, it’s not a surprise that there is a stalemate.

So as the GOP legislators are going through the budget bills, and part of their leaders’ agreement with the governor was to eliminate the policy language, they have been showing reluctance in doing so, because they worked so hard to get that language in the bills.

Policy is not budget, and that’s why we’re being held up.

The governor wanted to have the special legislative session today, but because of the slowness of going through the bills, it’s been delayed to who knows when. Also, there’s a concern that the GOP does not have the votes to pass the bills their leaders agreed to.

I think this is a microcosm of what is going on for the debt ceiling. Legislators that are new. Legislators that don’t cultivate relationships. Legislators that sign pledges that limit their effectiveness.

Why do legislators sign those pledges? All those pledges (no new taxes, for example) do is back them into a corner and then they’re stuck. Times change, situations change, and as a legislator, one must be flexible. Pledges destroy that flexibility.

What if a 9/11 incident happens and the USA needs to react, but doesn’t have any money to do so? Well, if there is a no new tax pledge, it wouldn’t be able to react. And BOOM! We’re gone. But, at least, the legislators kept their pledges. That’s the important thing, I guess.

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get back to work next week. If this drags on longer, then maybe I’ll have to start looking for another job. I have some savings, but I’d like to be earning money, too.

This weather would have killed Ray. His lungs were full of fibroids and he could barely breathe in humid weather. He would have stayed in the house, playing online poker and watching movies, and he would have been quite content. He had way more patience with frustrating situations than I do.

I went to workout this morning, and since my house was being cleaned, I went over to Joe’s after working out. We drove over to the grocery store and bought the fixings for BLT sandwiches for lunch.

When I got home after lunch, and oh, it’s so nice to come home to a clean house, I had a project waiting for me.

Ray collected wood like some people collect coins. I have pieces of wood out in the garage, all lengths, all types, and all quality. Ray would take apart furniture and keep the pieces. If he saw someone throwing out wood, he’d collect it.

He had piled the some of his wood on a couple of shelves in the garage. When I went out to the garage this morning to get my car, I saw that the shelves had broken and the wood had clattered to the floor.

I’ve been meaning to move that wood to the eaves of the garage anyway, so the shelf break-down gave me an opportunity to take care of this situation.

So, I set up a few electric fans in the garage, sorted the wood into lengths so we could put the largest pieces on the eaves first, and got the shelves set up again for light bearing loads.

Joe came over to help me, and together we moved at least 50 wood pieces onto the eaves of the garage. I sweat like a pig during hot weather, so I looked like I took a shower. My white shirt was dirty. Ick, I hate feeling so clammy.

I’m thinking about going swimming this evening, but even that seems like too much effort. Get in the car, park the car, find a spot to sit, and swim.

I hate having so much free time. It’s so boring to try to fill every day with something. I doubt I’ll ever retire, I can’t imagine having each day free to sit on my ass.

I’m sure part of my boredom is because I really can’t do anything. I’m waiting to go back to work.

It’s too nice to do things around house. I can’t justify spending a beautiful summer day, even a hot and humid one, to stay in the house.

I’m good at keeping myself busy, but each day just drags by.

But, even though I’m bored, it is kind of nice to slow down a bit. I don’t get as frustrated when Joe wants to have a long conversation about something. I take time to read or spend “quality” time with my dogs. My grandsons and I went to see the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and had a great time. So the stress of trying to fit in as much as I can each day is lightened a bit.

Well, it’s supposed to be hot and humid tomorrow, too. We lived through the winter from hell and after a slow start; we’re living through the summer from hell, too.