Heat & Weight

I can't believe that it's been (and will continue to be at least through Monday) hotter here in Vancouver than it is in Davenport. It's been in the 80s here most of the week and may hit 90 on Monday. Unreal. Of course, they've been wrong before with forecasts that far ahead, but still.

I'm not the slimmest person around (Shout from the Peanut Gallery: "Talk about understatments!"), and I am definitely out of shape, but it's always in the summer that I get really miserable. I grew up in Iowa, lived in the Chicago area for 5 years, and had to deal with the super-cold winters and really hot summers. We didn't even have air conditioning until after I went off to college (or just before that, I'm sure Mom can correct me). I guess I got used to being a sweatbag for most of the summer, but it was never pleasant.

Because I start sweating at almost the slightest exertion, though, I'm not sure if how I handle the summer is related to my weight or not. Would I stop sweating so much if I managed to lose a few pounds? Probably, though part of me thinks that it wouldn't make *that* much difference. Some people just sweat more than others, I think.

I am starting to work toward the goal of getting in better shape, however. Yesterday, I started walking the stairs of our building, from the ground floor up to our suite, and I plan to do that a lot in the near future. Soon, I may graduate to walking both ways, or maybe up to higher floors and back. The best part is that it's private (unless somebody's actually using them, which is unlikely in this building), so I don't have to be embarrassed in front of anybody else.

Stairs have always been my nemesis. When I walk from the car to my office, it's mostly uphill with a lot of stairs. By the time I get there, I'm sweating like crazy. Thankfully, I'm basically the only one there for the first 15-20 minutes! I'm almost embarrassed to stand and talk to the one co-worker who is there, at least until I've had a chance to cool off.

The worst thing is, it's all relative. Having grown up in the midwest, 80 degrees was heaven because that meant it wasn't 90 degrees or even higher (I was in the Chicago area in 1995 when over 500 people died from the heat). My first couple of summers in Vancouver, it was actually pretty pleasant. Now? I am hot and lethargic and I look at the temperature and marvel. This would be a beautiful temperature in the Midwest! It does make the summer trip home difficult sometimes.

I'm glad to say I'm finally starting to do something about this. The question is, once I'm where I want to be, will I stop sweating so much?