Life In The Pacific Northwest
I’m a pretty adaptable person, weather-wise. But Seattle’s temperate nature speaks deeply to me. I struggle with heat. Hate is too strong a word. But these temps approaching 90 are challenging to deal with.
How are handling the heat? Parked in front of a fan? Moving into a mall?
With the gloom clearing
Patches of blue sky eastward
Yet more rain’s coming
Weather, especially in June, can be quite fickle. Such is today. I guess.
Though the next few days look a bit drippy, the weekend is looking pretty nice. Actually, we’ll be pushing the Seattle comfort band pretty hard Sunday and Monday. 80? Ooofff!
Anyway, excited and ready to get outdoors? Or are you going to find a coffee shop or a mall with AC?
Well, it was pretty hot today. A real scorcher by Seattle standards. The temperature above was in Marysville, taken right after I got in.
I’m not the biggest fan of heat, but it doesn’t bother me like some folks. I remember getting off the plane. In Orlando. In August. The wave of heat and humidity was invigorating. Weird, I know. But it brought up memories of the Philippines. A wonderful period in my life. That was many decades hence. Yet it’s still in my heart.
Where I hate heat: when I’m trying to sleep. I love feeling cool. No logic. Just is. Thank goodness for fans.
Now the layer of grimy duat covering my cars each morning irritates my sinuses. That’s been adding an element of misery. Fortunately, my allergy meds work mitigates my misery. V_
Clearly, spring has sprung.
And, in classic Seattle, Charlie Brown-esque luck, after one last nice, albeit cooler, day, we launch into another dripfest weekend. Oh, we hapless Seattleites and our penchant for indoor weekend fun…or rain gear. We’ll need to utilize one, or both, this coming one.
May it be wonderful for each of you. Rain or dry.
We in Seattle have a unique concept of weather. Living in a temperate climate impacts the use of adjectives. Things like “heat wave” and (today’s Daily Prompt) “frigid“.
I’ve heard “frigid” used to describe temperatures in the 30s (Fahrenheit). Now, if you’re from Buffalo, Chicago, Moscow or Beijing, you might find that a bit puzzling. Understandably so. Yet, with some insight, it makes sense.
Western Washington’s average temperature ranges from 37-77 F over the year, with a mean of 54 F. Extended exposure to this makes for a unique view of weather extremes, especially what defines those extremes.
A quirk of Seattleites: this narrow range of comfort. Seattle folks complain of brutal cold in the mid-30s, and of extreme heat in the upper 70s. Folks from Buffalo are still wearing shorts in the 30s, and Floridians are wearing light sweaters in the 70s.
I’ve come to believe that this framework helps us cope with the length and breadth of grey days. So many transplants I’ve known struggled with the extended grey. It carries its own brutality. For me, though, it’s beautiful.
As the sun rises
Light drifts across the mountains
Red upon the new snow
I was thinking it would be great to fit in a walk today, but I spent lunch with a good friend and now the weather has turned to murk. Fortunately, I was planning on spending the evening doing taekwondo, so I’ll get some exercise to burn off the Bob’s Chuckwagon burger dip.
As could hear the rain rattling our skylights, I opted to check the weather. The graphic above reminded me of my childhood, where I thought that a “50% chance of rain” meant it would going to rain 50% of the day. Ah, growing up in Seattle!
Fortunately, it hasn’t rained 100% of today. At moments it sure feels like it, though.
I guess it’s time to plan for a full week of rain, though. I’ll be spending time at the gym, I guess, besides in the dojang. Wet, wet, wet…
Last night I spent about an hour in the gym, mostly focused on cardio. It’s been a bit since I focused like that. Miss it. Yet I was pleased at my performance. My intermittent workouts haven’t been too detrimental.
I noticed my weight creeping back up, though. Probably a function of a dreadful diet. So I restarted using my food tracker. That works nicely, nuisance that it is.
This time of year challenges me, fitness-wise. Dark, wet and cold: getting outside becomes uncomfortable at best, painful at the worst. The darkness adds a bit of danger, since cars have a hard time seeing me. I manage that well, I think. But it’s still unpleasant. And fatty, yummy foods start manifesting more. Double negatives.
My health concerns don’t wane, though. Things like diabetes lurk, and I want nothing to do with that disease. Must. Keep. Focused. The value of gym memberships, and bit being to off-put by them
Another area of active balancing.
I guess I’m lucky. My major impact from these fires has been increased sneezing. It might also play a part in the migraines I’m fighting these past few days. There are many folks for whom this is seriously debilitating. I’m glad that’s not me.
Any way, as I’m want to do, here’s a haiku for you.
I’m not excited by the expected high temperatures over the next few days. Sure, for much of the world, these temperatures are not considered hot. In western Washington, though, this is near inferno.
This region is often described as “temperate”. Our relatively narrow band of temperatures makes those of us adapted to it very uncomfortable elsewhere.
My ideal band fluctuates between the upper 50s to mid 70s. Hence why it seems Seattleites are perpetually complaining about the weather.
Funny that we generally don’t bother with AC, considering this. It’s not hot enough to spend money, just enough to air grievances. And so we go. Fortunately, we tend to cool significantly overnight.
Stay comfortable my friends.