Chillin'.

WE HAVE AIR. I always thought that I could probably just deal with a distinct lack of air conditioning - you know, suck it up and sweat it out. But I was wrong. So very wrong. It hit me yesterday, when the reality of having cool air pumping through our vents was so close; the repairman informed me that he would have to go get another part from some other guy who had kept it in his truck...long story short, what should have taken about an hour took three. And as I sat there, nearly biting the head off of anyone who dared to call me (ok, I'll be honest - just my mom), legs not just sticky but dripping and a distinct scant about me (eau de deodorant-stopped-working) it hit me: I can't deal with this shit. Yes, yesterday was a bit extreme. The inside temperature of our house was a steamy 94, and the heat index (something that has always pissed me off - oh, it feels like 107 outdoors, but really, it's only 98. Who gives a shit what the actual temperature is? If it feels like 107, then that's the number with which I have to contend. Dammit.) was something like 107. So if you combine those two numbers, throw in some irritation and some prickly heat, then you understand why I was slightly irritable.

But now, the house is in the 70s. And nothing is sweeter than waking up dry, and not having to hose yourself down before going to work. I even needed a sheet last night, because I got a bit chilled. CHILLED!

Wednesday was Y's birthday and she is now among the ranks of those in their mid-twenties. Tonight the ladies are going out for dinner at a restaurant that always makes me feel much cooler and more hip than I really am - Asiatique. Just my luck, I'll probably slip and fall or stick a straw up my nose or something.

And even though I cannot afford to get her one of these, I will post below what I believe would be the perfect gift for Y. And while we're dreaming, I'll pick one up for myself, too, and possibly all my friends.
It's a hottub. And it's portable. (!) And on top of those coils there? That would be a wok.(!) It's entirely plausible that you could make an entire meal (a spiffy one, not pb&j) and stay in the tub the whole time. And it comes in 7 colors, I think. The price tag: $6000. But you could easily spend that on a tub that is nowhere NEAR as cool as this one. Check out all the places this dutchtub can go here.