Conservation of Energy

It's getting hot out. Not that that should really surprize me, but somehow I suppose that it does. So it's getting hot out, and I'm not really sure what I should do about it. I could try walking around with a refridgerator strapped to my back, but I don't think I'd manage to get very far. And even if I did, I'm not sure that would really end up helping the heat any, unless I also hauled around a power supply. But that'd probably have to be gas-generated, since batteries are really heavy. And gas is so expensive now that it's probably worth living with the heat instead of hauling around a gas-generated refridgerator's power supply around with the refridgerator simply so I can get a glass of cold water whenever it's a bit on the "too warm" side of the scale.

I guess then that I just have to live with the heat and try to head for cooler areas when it starts to warm up even more in a month or so. But still, with all this heat, there's got to be something that can be done. And given that I've apparently decided that I can't really keep myself cool, I'll simply have to remember that for the back half of the year, it's going to start to get too cold. Much too cold, and the apartment enjoys leaking like a screen door on a submarine. But at least it makes a lot more sense. So maybe I can simply attempt to conserve the heat until a rainy, cold day.

It's much too hot out right now, but as soon as I perfect my heat-bottle, that won't be a problem any longer. I can then capture the heat, protect the heat, and use it to warm up my home when it's twenty-seven below outside. If the bottle's big enough, perhaps I can even keep it from being twenty-seven below outside.

But then I'll probably be outlawed in some congressman's attempt to win votes by stamping out global warming. Outlawed and stepped on with a really big boot. Or at least smacked with a really big rubber smiley-face stamp. All because of the heat. But at least then I'd have other things to occupy my mind.

How /do/ you remove that much ink, anyway?

The Dark Side

I have turned an odd shade of red. Not everywhere, a bit on my arms and neck, but most annoyingly, the tops of my feet have these big red splotches. Now normally, when I've had a sunburn, I haven't minded. In fact, while being a camp counselor, it was actually rather fun. Kids love climbing on peoples' backs, but for some reason they decided they shouldn't climb on my back /because/ I had a sunburn. Even though most sunburns tend to be ignorable.

It's hard to ignore a sunburn on your feet though. If I walked around barefooted, I could probably manage, but I'm not sure that my coworkers would much appreciate it. So I'll just suffer through.

But really, you can't even wear loose socks or shoes to prevent too much contact with the sunburn. Every step you take, the top of your foot lifts up your shoe, pressing your sock more strongly against the burnt portion of your foot. Causing it to tingle rather uncomfortably.

Sure, sunburns are still livable. It might be a pain without a purpose, but at least I know it's pain due to my own stupidity. Even though I did use sunblock, I still should know better than to go outside. Every step I take I'll just be reminded why it's preferable to hide in front of a computer screen than it is to brave the big blue room. And so, inside I will stay, laughing at all the people I see walking by in the sunlight, amused, knowing that they're going to get home and be bright red, mad at themselves for forgetting to also refrain from going into the sun.

And then I see the plants, the trees, and realize that if we could manage to evolve past this, we'd have to spend all day in the sun. And I wonder. Will we be immune to sunburns before or after we begin to photosynthesize?

Or maybe life would be better if I just moved to the dark side of the moon.

More Than Just Rest

For eight summers, I spent a few weeks each year working as a camp counselor. Of course, when I started, I so didn't expect it.

To graduate high school, I was required to do some number of community-service hours. I worked at the library for a while and helped out at church, but still had way too many hours left to do, when working at camp was suggested. I figured, not really my cup of tea, but getting my hours taken care of while sleeping seems like a really good idea. So I agreed, packed my bags, and off to camp I went.

And I was right. It wasn't my cup of tea..for the first week or so. But I started to enjoy it. Playing with the kids, having minimal responsibilities, actually *gasp* getting sunshine, they were nice, and I had fun. Didn't really mind leaving, but was glad I'd come. Of course, the next year rolled around, and given a choice between staying home all summer or going back to camp for a few weeks, back to camp I went.

Several years I returned, each year me thinking it's my last, just to manage to make time to return the year after. Once the kids started expecting me to be there, though, I knew I found something I truly enjoyed. Even if they did call me the Door Nazi and half of them did whatever they could to try to annoy me, I was so much meaner to them than the other way around.

Leading to working at CTY's summer program and being a member of the Physics Van, a variety of experiences have all sprung from the one "I may as well get my hours done by sleeping" thought. So now I know, sleep gives you much more than just rest... Sleep gives you a new way of life!