am I tired.
First week back on midnights. It ain’t easy. Just finishing my week up — it’s 0519hrs and I’m off in 41 minutes. I will go home and nap. I will hope that the house is cool. Yesterday afternoon, when I just couldn’t sleep due to the neighbor’s dog and the other neighbor’s power washing and the other neighbor’s effing smooth jazz, for the love of gawd, I got up and MAN, was I grumpy. It was hot, I was hot, all was hot. Then I dropped an entire cup of hot coffee on the bathroom floor, breaking the cup in the process. I was a mental case.
Then I went to work, and an hour later called Lala and apologized for being a mental case. I said I felt better and I didn’t know why. She asked if I were in air conditioning. I realized that yes, I was, and yes, I was human again.
Fans are good. Air conditioners are better. We may have to get a little one someday, just for our room. Hopefully a REALLY loud one to drown out effing Kenny G. I mean, it’s good it’s not loud rap. But Sade at 150 decibels from TWO HOUSES AWAY coming through the walls and through my earplugs really blows.
But like I said, almost the weekend. The Whoreshoes are playing tonight! I plan on going, and I know there will be knitters there, but please forgive me if I flake at the last minute. Haven’t quite decided yet, but a night in and quiet would be good for me, I think. As would hanging out with my rockstar wife. Decisions….
We have friends — who live in Oakland, now that I think about it! — who had a big box fan in their bedroom when they first got married 35 years ago. When they (finally) moved into a house with air conditioning, neither one could sleep without the noise of the box fan! Now the electronic age permits them to buy an electric “white noise” machine….and download “box fan” sounds from a web site to broadcast from it!
And, um, Rachael? You DO understand that hot caffeinated coffee is a really bad idea when you’re already hot and un-air-conditioned, right? I mean, I know you know that, but I figured I’m far enough away I could safely mention it…
(ducking and running for cover)
XOXOXOX
Two thoughts — ceiling fans, and iced coffee.
I can so relate to the irritability/heat connection. It’s certainly one good thing about not living in Florida anymore. Seriously, ceiling fans make a huge difference, and don’t use nearly as much electricity as AC’s.
I don’t live in anywhere near that hot a climate, and I couldn’t live without my air conditioning. True, I’m cheap, so I set the thermostat high at night and use a ceiling fan, but it’s still cooler. The schnauzer who wants to share the bed doesn’t help, either…although she’s a wonderful little heater in winter!
Little window air conditioner – about $100
Not being cranky in the heat – Priceless.
Seriously, a couple of those small air conditioners have been a great investment for me. I do NOT do well in the heat.
Hope to see you tonight, and if not, we hope to see you soon!
xoxo
Hey, I have been lurking on yours and Lala’s blogs for awhile. Your wedding pics were so fabulous.
Anyway, I am a total geek, and therefore your post made me think of DIY air conditoning. Here are a few links to cheap and helpful systems that are easy to put together. http://tinyurl.com/zfjfl
and
http://tinyurl.com/elm7o
I heart hot! It’s no fun when it’s too hot to sleep, though. This morning, about the time you were heading home to crash, my clinically insane next-door neighbors were having a front-porch debate about whether he would go to the store and buy bread and milk. They are completely nocturnal and seem to forget that other people aren’t. I was tempted to walk out there in nothing but my underpants and remind them that it was Sunday morning at 6 a.m.
I moved from the sticks to a tiny, but pretty noisy town. I put a big box fan in the window, it keeps me cool, but even better, it drowns out my neighbors parties into the wee hours. It helps if it is a sort of cheap, and therefore, sort of noisy, fan.
Good luck. Not sleeping sucks.
You HAVE to get an air conditioner for the window of the bedroom – and a ceiling fan – and a white noise machine (I personally like the ocean noise myself) with your earplugs you will be able to sleep in comfort no matter what is going on outside. We have air conditioners in our bedrooms only – you need to sleep – we can go with no air in the rest of the house but in the bedrooms it is a must.
That smooth jazz stuff makes me want to kill people. Seriously. And yeah, air conditioning is good! I just saw an ad for a portable one on sale, but of course I can’t remember where it was. Helpful, aren’t I?
Delurk to say Hi Rachel!
Police helicopters do nice white noise, once I got used to it. But they’re probably not around when you’re trying to get to sleep in the am. I’m waking up too hot and grumpy. Dratted morning sun – where’s the morning overcast? I’m sooo sorry about the soft jazz – isn’t there an ordinance against it?
Do I still sound grumpy? Bright side – gorgeous day to go to the water. I think I’m going with George to Lake Temescal with a buddy of his and we’ve never been. Yippee!
Tell me about this freakin’ heat. The afternoon sun hits our side of the building, so it’s freakin’ hot until about 11pm.
I so don’t want to work tomorrow.
I hate not sleeping, and I am *such* a wuss in the heat. Been complaining for days. I think what you need is a night at the Whoreshoes show, as I very selfishly want to see you. =) Love you! Enjoy your evening, whether in or out. Muah.
Sounds like you’re in my ‘hood.
Next time you’re at Target, take a look at their little box window a/cs. They’re cheaper than you’d think, around a hundred bucks. Costco has a standup one that has a small intake sucker thing for the window and stands upright–it’s pretty neat but about $350 as I remember. The most important thing whichever you go for is to screw it securely to the window frame–otherwise wouldbe thieves can pop it out and climb right in.
Babe- GET THE AIRCONDITIONER. Ahem. I mean, they’re like 60 bucks. You own an ipod, you own a red toaster, why stop the consumer groove at something like an AIR CONDITIONER that can actually save not only your sleep, your marriage, and your neighbor’s life, it may actually save other peoples’ lives, because you are a freakin cop-paramedic-fire fighter control tower, and me, I likes my dispatchers to be sharp. Just sayin. Also, when I worked midnights ( NOCS, nurses call them) I always made a point of telling my neighbors that I worked MN. Two reasons: one, they may actually be quiet if they knew to. Two, if they are not quiet, they’re jerks, and then I felt totally fine about doing whatever it took to get them to shut up. Within reason. As my mom would say, I’m only yelling because I love you. (Gotta love ethnic families.)
If you can’t/don’t want to invest in the window AC, definately spend $20 and get yourself a sound machine. In college, it saved my life and my rommie’s. All-campus dance parties outside my windows did not deter me from sleep! The white noise setting may not be the most pleasant to listen to generally, but it is definately the most effective at cancelling out the highs and lows of outside noise. And it’s the changes in sound frequency that generally keep us awake.
May I suggest a sound machine too. A/C in the window, a sound machine and ear plugs. I sleep with an a/c unit in my wall in my centrally a/c’d house and I use the orange ear plugs I think the block out like 30 some whatchmacallits. I do not use a sound machine but i know someone that does……she brought it along to MS$W!!
As far as the neighbors – people don’t think about others working 3rd shift. Sorry to say. Go to Lowe’s and get the a/c unit! You will love life once again!
For some reason, I handle heat much better now than I used to, but your story reminded me of an incident that happened many years ago. I had been unrelentingly grouchy and grumpy and pissy for weeks because it had been so hot here in Seattle, and I continued to be so until the evening we went to a friend’s house for a party. When we came back out of the house, the temperature had dropped by about 20 degrees because fall had all of a sudden arrived–and I instantly became friendly and sweet and, I dare say, even cuddly. Whoah! The abrupt and total change scared even me!
Lala is so sweet and knows you so well.
May I second (or third?) the ceiling fan idea? That’s what one needs most of the time around here (You need air conditioning maybe ten days out of a year in the Bay Area). We have ceiling fans in all three bedrooms. Makes a big difference. On hot days you can lay down on the bed and turn the ceiling fan on high.It’s heavenly.
I’m not even gonna acknowledge that somone who lives in California complaining about heat.
Move to Hawaii and be pregnant in the middle of the summer, then, THEN we can talk…
Oy, if the smooth jazz is coming thru the foam earplugs, they need to turn it down! I always thought the noise thing was only for us apartment dwellers, guess that’s not true.
As a light sleeper, I can empathize, I hope you adjust soon!
Congrats on everything! The red toaster, the canadian wedding, the electric ice cream scooper, and Clara! Ohmigod – she’s so fabulous! I want a dog so much but I am NEVER home, so I would be a bad mom and I don’t want to be a bad mom.
I have an airconditioner (my Brooklyn apartment is a hotbox and loud too). I use it yes. Life is more pleasant for it. However I am concerned about global warming, so I would like to look into your friends post up there about alt airconditioners. And a vornado fan is quite effective in anything below 80 degrees.
Kisses to you, the dogs, the wife (of course heh heh). Hey – my big news (tell la she’ll flip) – I got my nipps pierced. It was ow, and they are a pain in the ass (high motherfuckin’ maintenance) but I love them.
So – vornado fan or window or ceiling fan – ya. Try to resist the airconditioner cause fans are better for the world anyway. Clara – big thumbs up – she’s a beaut.
You and la are welcome in Brooklyn for as long as I have a guest room.
Love,
Moira
1) Report the neighbor with the loud music to the police – that’s noise pollution. He’s violating your rights.
2) Get an air conditioner or several.