Posted by I was supposed to be back dancing today but my body had other ideas. Not really sure the cause. Flying can mess up my sinuses and it is serious pollen season which does wonders for my allergies. And we spent parts of two days traveling up to 8000 feet and then back down. I felt some pressure while up there. And it was raining this morning meaning some front had come through.
So some combination of those factors (or maybe something I’m not even thinking of) and I woke up last night around 1AM with a severe pounding headache. Nothing worse than a headache that wakes you up because what are you going to do except try to go back to sleep but the pain says “Nope, think again”. Took some Tylenol but I know headaches like these just laugh at Tylenol. If I’m lucky, the Tylenol takes a bit of the edge off. If not, it really does nothing. The night passes with sleep coming in short bursts while the pain intensifies.
Oh, and it is one of those wonderful headaches that just makes you feel nauseous all day. And, I had all that going for me on my first day back from vacation and sorting through the gazillion useless emails that piled up in my inbox. These headaches last 12-24 hours so I thought I might start feeling better but no such luck so I had to cancel my lesson for tonight. Seriously can’t imagine trying to salsa with my head pounding like this. What sucks is next Monday is Labor Day so it will be three weeks between lessons so I’ll have to be studying my video and notes.
But, since I can’t really concentrate on much, I thought I’d entertain you with some random ramblings. Yesterday, the cicadas were super loud. They are kind of a sad little bug since they only get a couple of a weeks (if that) to fly around and make noise and I think they are kind of cute as far as bugs go. But they are a sign that we are deep into summer and fall is just around the corner. There are certainly other signs of that as well – a few trees have leaves that have turned, some of my annuals are looking a little worn out and college football has started. A few of the grocery stores have even brought out Halloween stuff but that’s a rant for a different day.
Not going to bore you with another of my posts about how much I hate to see summer go. A lot of people like fall. I’ve really got nothing against it except that it is right before winter and those last few warm days just get me thinking about what I’ll be missing.
If life was perfect, I’d be living on a Caribbean island sitting at the beach (in the shade because I’m not about sunburn) with a breeze and a stack of books. Or maybe a full e-reader. Either one would be fine. Imagine finishing a chapter and just deciding to take a break by walking in the ocean for a bit and then coming back to pick up where you left off. Well, I like walking in the ocean except for the sand part. But I could deal with that.
I don’t know if I would miss the change of seasons though. Having grown up where there were four seasons (and sometimes they all happened in the same day), would the sameness of the weather become boring? I think it could. I do like spring and seeing everything spring back to life and the earth wake up and become green again.
So, then I’m thinking back to my last post where I kind of ruled out Salt Lake City as a place to live but started thinking about the little towns in southern Utah. It was in the upper 90’s both days in the first place we stayed. Strolling around Arches National Park with no shade in the middle of the day was brutal. But the mornings were pleasant and if you were walking in the shade, the evenings weren’t bad either. There is the old cliche that it is a dry heat and you don’t feel it. Which isn’t true but it is less oppressive than when we hit the 90’s.
I did look into the climate in these places just for fun. They do get cold in the winter but they seem to be protected from the cold air that spills out of Canada where I live. They do get snow and ice and it does drop below freezing there but it seems like a much shorter winter than we get here. According to some website, that part of Utah rates a 74 on a comfort index while the place I currently live rates a 47 (higher is better).
And maybe I’m just thinking about this because I just finished an Anne Hillerman book. I don’t read a lot of mysteries but I got hooked on Tony Hillerman who wrote about a Navajo cop in New Mexico and the way he described the places appealed to me. Now, having seen a bit of that part of the country for myself, I can see the attraction.
The drawback to these small towns is that I suspect there wouldn’t be much in the way of ballroom. Not sure the Famous Franchise has hit southern Utah yet. So getting to a studio could be a bit of a problem.
Of course, this is all still a fantasy since I still need to work and my job isn’t going to be transported to the Southern Utah desert or a Caribbean Island any time soon. Ah, but I can still dream about a place with less winter …..
Facing Diagonal Wall 