Temperature’s Rising, It Isn’t Surprising

She certainly can can-can.

Okay, enough obscure lyrics.

The week of nasty temperatures has passed us and I feel like I am once more in the land of the living. I’m just not a person who enjoys the heat, and it’s always worse when you’re stuck in a second floor, southern exposure apartment with no air conditioning and the very real possibility that if you attempted to install a window unit, something would blow up. The cats have been coping much better with the nastiness, mostly by lounging around on damp floormats and underneath the bathtub. And of course, Karma is curious, even for a kitten, and more than once has gotten her back half drenched by falling into the laundry water. I’m starting to wonder if she does it on purpose. And also to remark the striking similarity of expression between a person wading into cold water and a cat who falls into a tub.

The weather was even worse because I think I managed to dehydrate myself. On Thursday I made myself some iced coffee. Coffee really isn’t my thing as it is. Well, I ended up having two big glasses of it in the early afternoon and then couldn’t sleep. And I mean, at all. When I laid down I felt dizzy and I couldn’t stop tossing and turning. So I got up a little after midnight and just never went back to sleep. Alan tried to get me to sleep in the morning, but I just dozed off for about 15 minutes. On top of feeling dizzy I could then add a charming alternation between shivering cold and sweating profusely. I spent the day drinking water and eating very little.

I heard back from Kim at Bright Horizons on Tuesday and she asked me to e-mail three references to Danielle, which I did. Danielle e-mailed me back to say that I would hear from them either Friday or Monday. Since I didn’t hear on Friday, I’m expecting she’ll call tomorrow. Common Ground has not called me back, unfortunately. She did say that she would call either way, so Alan says I should try calling her tomorrow. Good idea, but it’s always so hard for me to do that. I will try though.

Alan’s interview with the collections agency in Stamford went really well. So well, in fact, that he had a second interview with the Boss later that week, which also went really well. He should hear back from them in the next few days. He also had an interview with CVS downtown and they called yesterday to let him know they were interested in offering him a position and that they would call early this week to set up a time to come in and fill out paperwork to make it official. I know he likes the idea of CVS better than the collections agency, but I can’t help suspecting that the collections agency probably pays better. He likes the fact that he could ride his bike to work, and I can’t say that I blame him. Walking to the train station, catching a train to Stamford, then walking from there to the building would be a lot more complicated. And if I hear from Bright Horizons tomorrow then CVS is fine with me. It’s only a problem if I’m not working. If we’re both working, we should be able to limp along all right. So let’s all cross our fingers, shall we?

And the summer is ending, a prospect that lifts my spirits a bit. I always liked fall. I like the weather and I like the mood of it. Everyone’s looking forward to new starts, somehow. Plus there’s all the holidays coming up. And this year Alan will be leaving for Basic Training. It’s scary because I don’t want him to leave, but it still feels like a fresh start. Plus our first anniversary is coming up in less than a month. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll actually be able to do something special. Or at least go out to dinner.

I also have the CT Renaissance Faire to look forward too. I’ve never been to this one, and it really seems like they take advantage of New England weather, because unlike so many others, this one actually runs from mid-September to mid-October.  A much more pleasant time of year for dressing up in Renaissance garb with all its layers. I recently bought a pink damask stripe sheet from Goodwill and used it to make a long gathered skirt for a new Faire outfit. I also took the chemise I bought a few years back and altered that a bit to fit my personality better. I cut out the elastic in the neck and arms, created holes on the outside of the elastic casings and added skinny peach ribbons for drawstrings. It’s much more comfortable now, and I can adjust the neck line, which had really always bothered me. And it’s more period appropriate. Now I just need a bodice, which I’m thinking I should order from By The Sword, a seriously excellent source for all things recreationist and not terribly expensive. My mom is coming down in a couple weeks and I’m going to take her over to Goodwill to see if I can find another sheet to repurpose and then to JoAnn’s to get the various necessary notions. And fabric if I can’t find a sheet. It’s jut a lot easier with a sheet because you already have a hem and two finished edges. All that’s left to do is finish the top edge and sew a casing for the elastic or drawstring. We’d still need to find her a chemise and bodice, but maybe I can convince her to buy them from the same website. Then at the Faire I can look for accessories. 😛 I’m such a nerd, I know. But it’s a lot more fun than most people realize. Anyone see Role Models? They were totally into the whole LARP thing by the end of the movie.

Anyway, just thought I’d update a bit. Time to put away the dry stuff and wash some more. So much fun. At least I’m saving money this way.

~Liz