the Unending Journey of the Wandering Author

A chronicle of the unending journey of the Wandering Author through life, with notes and observations made along the way. My readers should be aware I will not censor comments that disagree with me, but I do refuse to display comment spam or pointless, obscene rants. Humans may contact me at thewanderingauthor at yahoo dot com - I'll reply as I am able.

Name:
Location: New England, United States

I have always known I was meant to write, even when I was too young to know the word 'author'. When I learned that books were printed, I developed an interest in that as well. And I have always been a wanderer, at least in my mind. It's not the worst trait in an author. For more, read my writing; every author illuminates their heart and soul on the pages they write upon.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Down But Not Out

I see from at least one comment I may have worried some of you by my long absence. I did intend to post much sooner, to clean up my template, and so on. I still plan to do those things, but 'the best laid plans of mice and men...'

During the earlier part of August, we had a number of days with extreme heat and humidity. Summers here are warmer than they used to be, and there isn't a spare circuit to plug an air conditioner into. Besides, I hate canned air and prefer fresh air blowing through the window. Most days, even though I don't like the heat, I can live with it. On the really awful days, I usually at least survive it.

What I didn't count on this summer was a combination of factors. First, usually the really bad days come one or two at a time. Second, usually, I'm not worn down by the flu and then dehydration. Third, I usually take it a bit easier than I did this summer when the heat does hit. So, when a long string of baking, steaming, humid, awful days arrived (and, despite being in the northeast, in our micro region, more than one visitor from Brazil has complained about the heat when it gets like that...) they hit me harder than I expected.

The other thing I wasn't prepared for, and this is something I urge you all to keep in mind: if you begin to suffer too much from heat and dehydration, your judgment suffers. You decide you're too tired to get up and get a drink when that's exactly what you need. Yes, it is stupid, and I feel like a fool admitting this, but you should all be aware of this. Once you start to get really sick, you aren't in a good position to take decent care of yourself.

Of course, the end result of all this, along with nights so hot and humid I couldn't get to sleep for hours (or, sometimes, at all) was a nasty case of heat exhaustion. Which doesn't sound like much. In my case, I was too hot and weary to eat much, I didn't drink enough, I didn't get enough sleep, and I got sick from the heat. And, when it was all over, I was more exhausted than I've ever been in my life.

I haven't even been keeping up with my blog reading. When I'm too exhausted to read, you know I'm worn out! When I was in second grade, I had pneumonia, and during the whole thing, I was going through library books so quickly I drove my parents nuts. But this time, I was too exhausted to read. Foolishly, when I started to get better, I tried to begin catching up on the things I needed to do right away.

Another mistake, although I did catch that one quickly. I've been taking it easy this past week, finally dipping my toes into reading a bit (I haven't got back to my blog reading yet - my computer throws off enough heat that the night in winter that the furnace quit, I sat up surfing and was nicely warm all night...). I still don't have a lot of stamina, but walking in the woods when the weather was cooler, sleeping late, and being lazy whenever I felt I needed it have done wonders for me.

I do hope to post more here, once I'm a bit more caught up on all the things I need to do. Today was another steaming scorcher, but I was forewarned, and consumed enough water, coconut water, root beer, and ice cream to keep me pretty cooled down and hydrated. That, and my trusty battery powered fan and a comfortable chair under the trees got me through it okay, so I really am doing better. I'm sorry I worried any of you.

In the meantime, please spare a thought for the people of Greece who are, quite literally, going through hell right now. I wanted to explain my long absence, but, next to what they're enduring, I've been safe and happy. Whatever explanation you prefer, it is pretty hard to avoid the idea that the Earth's climate is getting hotter than we are used to.

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diigo it

4 Comments:

Blogger Miss Kitty said...

Whew! Glad to know you're okay, WA. The heat here in Georgia has also been terrible, even for native Southerners like me. Two of my friends moved down here last year from Connecticut; they asked, "Is it ALWAYS this hot in Georgia?" I laughed and said, "No, not triple-digits. If you'll look carefully, even those of us who've always lived here are pitiful-looking and wilted." :-)

Glad to you know you're back among the blogging again, WA.

August 26, 2007 10:28 AM  
Blogger RomanceWriter said...

Glad to know you are slowly recovering. It has been hot as blazes in Chicago, too. Though just lately flooding took over all thoughts of the heat because we were inundated with water. Anyway, I pray you feel much better soon.

Best wishes,

Sara

August 30, 2007 11:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My dear Ray,
Hope you're feeling much better now.
So sorry I've hardly been around but think of you together with my other good blogger friends often.
Next week, everything will be back to normal for me. And I hope to visit you, Jennifer, Wolfbaby, Sara - as she's here above me - and all the rest as if I never went away. Miss you all terribly!
Take care, Ray. Just know that I'm thinking of you as always.

September 03, 2007 6:15 AM  
Blogger Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Dear Ray,
so sorry to read all of this.
I have missed you and all my blogger friends.
I am back and slowly visiting everyone.
Isn't it funny that there really is a bond of friendship on the net that binds us all? :-)
Take care. You will come through.

September 30, 2007 1:32 AM  

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