Kelly asked me last night if I was seriously going to walk to work today. Hmm. . .the stiffling hot outdoors or a stiffling hot and B.O.tastic bus? Not really a question, is it? And since I refuse to pay to park, I grabbed my water bottle (first time I carried one to work) and headed out the door. Definitely sticky but do-able. The crazies weren't out like the last hot morning I walked to work. "Hey, you Nancy's" wasn't heard once. I didn't see one person muttering to themselves or speaking up into the air. Not one. I even managed to get a few "good mornings" out of other walkers this morning. Nice.
I braced myself all day for the walk home. I knew it was plus-effin-insane (much like minus-effin-retarted, but slightly better). I prepared for my walk by packing my bag, preparing my already room temperature water, and changing into my tank top and long, tight, dark blue pants. I meant to put shorts in my bag this morning but forgot. I knew that Safeway (Starbucks) was less than 20 minutes away, and I figured I could handle it. As I stepped outside, my first thought was. . .
"It's actually not that bad!"
Now, if you know anything about me at all, it's this. I do not like heat. I do not like cold. I like 20 degrees, thank you very much. 20 DEGREES! 33 (42 with the humidex) is completely out of my league. Maybe the heat was addling my brain, playing with my thoughts, tricking me. Maybe I was already delusional with heat stroke. As I made it to Roslyn, I passed the gas station and saw the man laying on the floor while paramedics tended to him and the cashier kept serving customers. I wondered if he had succumbed to heat stroke. I wondered why I thought "It's actually not that bad!"
I took comfort in the cool Safeway, got some groceries that didn't have to heat up our already 81 degree main floor, purchased my Decaf-iced-non-fat-caramel macchiato, and headed home.
I'm not sure I'm ok. I'm thinking I've been possessed by a force greater than me. That my body has been inhabited by heat-loving aliens from the sun. I think I should call in crazy to work tomorrow.
