I moved to Austin in the middle of summer, 2001. Jenny and I had just finished a glorious cross-country trip, where we argued some but mostly impressed people with how well we were getting along. (A story for another time, certainly. Three weeks. San Francisco to DC. Southern route. We drove a pickup truck that we nicknamed Patsy Cline.)
Cross-country trip aside, I was relocating to Austin from San Francisco, where I had been a happy yuppie for several years. Strike that: I had been a happy, chilly, yuppie. San Francisco is gorgeous -- alternately windy and foggy or crisp and sunny. But it's never hot.
People who live in San Francisco can always spot a tourist. They're wearing shorts and sneakers (all the walking!) ... and bright new fleeces that they bought in Fisherman's Wharf with the Golden Gate Bridge on them. Because it's hard to understand how cold you will be when the fog rolls in over Nob Hill.
Anyway, I got to Austin and it was 102. I was impressed with myself for existing in such brutal heat. I was taking a hiatus from being a working professional, so I didn't have to wear a suit. My apartment complex had a swimming pool, so I didn't have to slog through my days without swimming. I thought to myself, "How do people do this??"
Then, it was 104. I thought, to myself, in all seriousness: "Surely, people don't have to go to work when it's 104. Don't they have, like, a heat advisory or something?" My overheated brain was scrambling back to the only extreme weather it had ever experienced. When there is a blizzard in the East, they cancel shit. Surely, they will do that, right?
Nope. People still go to work when it's 104. Some of them wear suits, even. Some of them work outside, even. My eyes were opened. And I was not just a little bit afraid.
So, fast forward (ulp) 12 years. It's summer 2013. It was 106 yesterday. It is probably 106 today, too. I go to work. I do things. I do not expect them to be cancelled. I sweat. We all sweat. I wear flip flops all the time. I have learned. Dare I say it, I may have even acclimated.
Anyway, here's what 106 degrees looks like on a sunny day in Austin, Texas.
 |
| Clear skies, cool boots, can't lose. |
Hope you feel like you've acclimated to something today.
Talk soon,
Heather
Posts
What a fun pic! Very Texas. A close childhood friend moved to Austin several years ago. She and her family recently visited and our group of girlfriends tried to convince them to move back home to get away from all that heat. But I guess heat trumps blizzards! I guess it's better than dealing with all the snow we had this year.
ReplyDeleteI'm sweating just thinking about 106. Honestly, if we could just trade 20 degrees, we would both even out right around 85! We can often spot tourists here by their fleeces, as well, but generally everyone here is a tourist!
ReplyDeleteI honestly think as the heat gets worse, and I get older, I get more pissy about how hot it is. Seriously.
ReplyDelete