Days like today remind me once again

that I really, truly do hate summer. Had planned to go to a doctor appointment today, but realized that while I was probably doing well enough to stand at a bus stop for a while, and possibly feeling well enough to tolerate the heat, I was almost certainly not doing well enough to stand at a bus stop in the heat. So, today I:
rescheduled an appointment;
went to the public library to read magazines and revel in their air-conditioning;
walked to a mall in the hopes of finding something decent for lunch;
was upset by the fact that all the foods I'd be remotely willing to eat cost five dollars or more;
acknowledged my momentary stupidity;
walked to a grocery store with a salad bar where I got exactly what I wanted for just $1.87;
took my tasty salad to the mall food court to eat it there;
considered catching a bus someplace else just for the heck of it;
decided that even though the other place did have sufficiently good public transportation to ensure that my wait would never be long, the trip just wasn't worth it today;
went back to the library for a couple more hours of A/C;
went outside after sunset and marveled and the continuing bloody summeriness of it all;
bought cheese and an avocado;
came home.

I am now melting in a puddle of my own sweat. Here's hoping tomorrow is more interesting--but in a good way.

Evil linkage of the day

Do not visit this link if you are easily offended by bad propaganda from people who oppose your views on abortion. Do not visit this link if you are easily offended by bad propaganda from people who share your views on abortion. Do not visit this link if you are disturbed by anything related to abortion at all. Do not visit this link if you are offended by bad stereotypes, either. Probably the only people who should visit the blog post linked to below are people with perverse senses of humor, which I know some of you have:

Super Happy Fun Abortion Time (image-heavy).

(no subject)

So today I was feeling significantly better than yesterday--no particular reason why I should be feeling better, mind you, I just was--significantly enough that I not only did not call to cancel today's doctor appointment, but I even went for a bit of a walk in the evil summer heat first. (I'm afraid that Sanity and I are only nodding acquaintances these days.) Anyway, I walked about 1.5 miles in the heat--and then several hundred feet in a fairly impressive downpour. The cool raindrops felt wonderful at first. But soon I realized that this was the kind of storm where, no matter how nearsighted you are, you will see better with your glasses off than with them on. And then I discovered that really it was best to keep eyes closed as much as possible since the wind was driving raindrops directly into my face and isn't water supposed to be soft? I don't think there was any hail involved--the raindrops were just hitting with enough force to hurt.

Finally made it to the shelter of a Metro station. After I boarded the bus taking me to my doctor's neighbhorhood, the storm eased up a little; and by the time I neared my stop, it seemed like clouds might even break up enough to let a little sunshine through.

The first drops falling on me as I stepped off the bus only made me laugh, but another downpour hit soon enough and I hurried inside the nearest fast-food restaurant, making my way to the restroom where I scared some poor woman who didn't speak English and could only glare at me. I stayed in the main part of the restaurant a while longer waiting for the rain to ease up a little so I could cross major roads without killing myself or getting splatted by passing cars, and the poor woman was still there glaring uselessly.

It was a good thing I'd gotten on the early bus, wasn't it? Anyway, the rain finally stopped and I cautiously poked my nose outside. Okay, a few drops here and there. I can deal with this, right? Yeah, right. As I was crossing another street, a shower began showering upon me yet again and I was seriously wondering if I'd suddenly become a rain god like that guy in The Hitchhiker's Guide series. I somehow made it into yet another fast food restaurant, decided that maybe the weather driving me into these places was really a sign telling me it was time to eat, and ate a cheap burrito.

I did eventually make it to the doctor's office without being completely blinded by any more rain. Apparently the clouds decided I didn't need to be watered anymore since there was no way for me or my clothing to be any more saturated without breaking some laws of physics. I amused the doctor and most of the rest of the staff by being thoroughly pathetic as I went around looking like a drowned rat with hypothermia asking if anybody had a blanket.

The rest of my day was uneventful. No, really. Guess I'm not a new rain god after all.