Celebrating The Unexpected Joys of an Unairconditioned Life

We’re in the middle of a heatwave where I live.  Yesterday was the hottest day ever (and Alan and I moved a walk-in fridge – but that’s a story for another time)!

And while most of my contemporaries have responded by cranking the AC up as high as it will go and moaning about global warming (see, there’s a correlation between…. oh, nevermind!) we’ve resisted the siren call.  We have a fan to lull us to sleep.  We drink a lot of water.  And we take frequent breaks.

Which might sound like endless suffering.  Or preaching.  Which it isn’t.  I’m not going to tell you to give up the AC.  It wouldn’t work.  But here are a few little joys that might just help you if you’ve been thinking of giving it a try.

This morning I went to a local coffee shop to meet a friend.  And it was air-conditioned.  And it was bliss.  And I’m not sure it would have been quite so blissful if I’d come from my air-conditioned home.

There’s a point in the night when the sweat dries and the air being blown over you actually cools you off.  And if you haven’t gone through the total sweatball phase, you’d likely miss it.

You can sit outside, catching errant breezes and enjoying a scrap of shade and not be knocked sideways when your air conditioning system fires up.

You can hear birdsong at 5:00 AM because all your windows are open.

Announcing that you have no AC garners you offers of swims in pools and chilled drinks.

Procrastinating? You’re not procrastinating!  You’re looking after your health and avoiding heat stroke.

When my hydro bill arrives, I won’t be afraid to open it.

Not to brag or anything, but I’ve actually had kind of a sweet week here.   Hope you have, too.

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9 Responses to Celebrating The Unexpected Joys of an Unairconditioned Life

  1. Karen says:

    You ALWAYS make me smile. And yes, my fave part of having no a/c is the swim invitations! Yippee!!!!!

  2. Douglass says:

    This is how Samoans do it:

    http://goo.gl/7QDz6

  3. Patti Winker says:

    Oh, my youth is calling me. Summer days swimming all day on the rivers and lakes…

    These days I am sitting in a woefully under-insulated condo, with south-west facing patio door that heats up the whole place by 1 pm. I have resisted cranking the A/C because my A/C man told me last year (when we hit 105 degrees) that it doesn’t make a bit of difference if you keep turning it down… an air conditioning unit is only capable of lowering the temperature from the outside to the inside a maximum of 20 degrees. So setting the ‘stat at 70 when it’s 105 outside will NEVER get you 70 degrees, it will just keep chugging away and you’ll be at a constantly cozy 85 degrees. And don’t get me started on the humidity! Living in a tropical jungle has its disadvantages.

    So, that said, I hear ya!

    We find the heat as an excuse to drink really fun cold beverages… AND we have learned to wait for the sun to set before we venture forth. That’s the absolute coolest thing about living in this heat – the night time brings everybody out! It’s quite entertaining to see the zombies come out and roam the somewhat cooler night air. tee hee!

    Oh yeah, and we’re putting our ceiling fans to good use.

    Well, it’s almost dark… time to get the blender going and let the nighttime fun begin! 😉

  4. Macy says:

    Air Con??? Now you’ve got me wondering if there’s a single air con unit in the whole of Scotland… probably not for some reason….
    Which isn’t to say I don’t have great memories of lying under overhead ceiling fans in Asia y’know…

  5. Barb McMahon says:

    Ceiling fans are the best!

  6. Deb says:

    I heard a woman on the radio recently complaining that her a/c broke and her family had to go and sleep in the basement till it was repaired. What? She has a cool enough basement to sleep in but they are going to run the a/c? I hope when they get their time of use electricity bill it makes them think twice. Why is it that people with kids don’t get this connection with global warming and their own use of power? We have houses near us with their a/c running like mad and their dryers going at the same time, with empty clotheslines in their backyard. When my neighbour is away I actually use her clothesline for overflow laundry. There are actually people running a/c when they are away on holidays or for the weekend so the house won’t be uncomfortable to come home to!!! Now you’ve got me started… I absolutely love all the things you appreciate in what others call “doing without.” : ) (Although I’m thinking you haven’t reached the “hot flash/night sweat” stage of life yet. LOL)

  7. Barb says:

    Hee hee. Been there for a few years now. And I realize that no amount of AC will help.

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