"Out & About Me" is a monthly blog series in which I tell you guys a bit more about me. I'll focus on a particular topic each month, and let you all get to know me a bit better than you already do.
Today I'm going to talk about the weather. I know a lot of you will have received comments from me over the years about how I hate summer, and I've also mentioned it in this blog now and then. But today I am focusing entirely on the weather and my sheer hatred of (the Australian) summer. I'll admit I don't mind a bit of Norwegian summer, what with its dramatic rainclouds overhead and the threat of a shower or two. Yeah, that's what I saw in Norway back in 2004, and the friend I was having lunch with that day indicated it was quite typical of that part of the country in summer (it was actually fairly reminiscent of a Western Australian winter). But the Australian summer is a different beast.
A friend from the US recently posted a link to this story on my Facebook page, about how in some parts of Australia it's so hot they had to add a new colour to the weather map - purple for the extreme heat of up to 54° c (129° f). Thankfully where I live it gets nowhere near that revolting sort of temperature (max temps tend to be around 43° c = 109.4 f). I live on the coast, and we get the sea breeze in the afternoons (called the Fremantle Doctor). But on days when that precious breeze fails to arrive, everything pretty much sucks around here. I always comfort myself with the fact that some people in the world have it worse than us, hot weather-wise.
I do have better reasons to hate the sun than most - I am susceptible to skin cancer and have already had a few cut out of my face. Not only is it physically and emotionally traumatic to go under the knife like that, but it's costly as well. And yet I know that the sun is life-giving, and that I need it to survive! Thankfully I recently got my Vitamin D checked and, surprisingly to myself and all who know me, my levels were within the healthy range. I guess around here you can't help but get some sun exposure no matter how hard you try to avoid it. It bounces off the ground and the walls and the leaves, no doubt, and finds you even in your shadiest hidey hole. ;)
Yeah, you have to be careful with that. Even if you wear sunscreen, watch your time in the sun.
ReplyDeleteI tend to just avoid the sun altogether, because even wearing sunscreen and being in it feels too dangerous for the likes of me!
DeleteI'm always amazed at how narrow a temperature range it takes for me to be comfortable... it's like, 3 degrees one way or another and I'm too hot or too cold.
ReplyDeleteThe sun though... that can cause some damage. Be careful.
What's worse here is that it's getting more and more humid every year. We used to have a really dry heat that was bad enough, but the humidity is just foul.
DeleteI too loathe summer. Fall and winter are my favourite months, and early spring is kind of okay. I just don't dig the heat.
ReplyDeleteMe too, I love those seasons. I even can enjoy spring over here, except that it's leading to summer. ew.
DeleteI was surprised to hear that you could hate the sun. I don't think I've seen it for weeks, and as I got out of bed this morning, I was thinking how much easier it would be to get up if the sun was streaming in the windows. But as I read on, you do have good reasons and I understand more, why you feel that way. Skin cancer is scary, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI'll quit complaining about our 90 degree WV summers!
ReplyDelete(I just saw on the news that they believe aspirin might cut the risks of skin cancer also...don't know if it's completely true, but I figure two a day won't harm me!)
It's true, it's not good to get too much sun... but I love heat! And you guys get a dry heat, don't you? Although you're right, anything higher than 40 sounds downright disagreeable. But we get up to 40 *with* humidity, which is awful! If I'd wanted to live in a jungle I'd move to the rainforest or the Pacific!
ReplyDeleteI miss the Mediterranean :-)
We used to get pure dry heat, but it's getting more and more humid here. We're becoming a lot more tropical. And it sucks!!!!!!! :)
DeleteI don't like summer, either. I'm okay with the sun but the heat makes me want to hide in a bunker until autumn.
ReplyDeleteCall me crazy, but I love the heat. Bring on the humidity too. Of course, that's probably because I know that I will spend at least six months freezing. I look forward to sweating it out for three months out of the year. If I had to do it all the time, I'm sure the novelty would wear off.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I definitely wouldn't like a summer that was 129 degrees, that is too hot! Still, I prefer summer to winter, however - summer rain storms are the best!
ReplyDeleteI'm right with you on not liking summer. Some days I swear I'm going to move to Alaska. :)
ReplyDeleteSo far I've loved all the hot humid places I've visited but it must be a lot different to live in it than to visit...
ReplyDeletehahaha. That does sound really hot, but I think I have it worse, it not only gets hot here, but there's no ocean. Plus it pretty much jumps from freezing cold winter to burning hot summer with no relief in between. There could be worse things I guess :)
ReplyDeleteMan, I sure could go for some sun about now, but being susceptible to skin cancer, I would hate the sun, too. Coastal summers, awesome. Tundra summers, not so much. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a friend whose skin is similar to yours -- so the post sounded familiar. Good to know about your Vit D levels.
ReplyDeleteYour "about me" posts are always so interesting to read. I'm right there with you about the sun and summer. In the winter I always miss the sun and think I can't wait for summer, but then when it gets here I change my mind. I'm so fair-skinned I'm nearly translucent, so the sun is not my friend.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I don't have to deal with the heat you have there, yikes.
I'm not a fan of the sun. I like the shade of a tree or porch. I hope you find the most cozy shady spots!
ReplyDelete