Cristy in the City

I used to count my years in summers (or Christmases) but ever since the weather guys declared there is no such thing as summer season in the Philippines, I no longer look forward to the characteristically unromantic “dry season” which conjures all sorts of negative connotations and emotions like dried up finances, droughts, dry spells, the Sahara Desert, the dry season of the soul. Growing up, summer evoked happy afternoons with golden hour light filtering through the trees, bicycle rides, birds singing on a cloudless day, watermelon slushies and picnics on the lawn. You’d find me on the porch reading a book while a radio station nearby blares Glenn Frey’s You Belong to the City. Ah, those were the days. By the tone of this post, you'd know this is major 80-90s climate change nostalgia. Indulge my bitchin’ and moanin’ as I whine about the normalized 36C temp and doomsday 44C RealFeel® this season. The human body can tolerate an ambient heat of 43C but higher than that bodily organs start to get stressed. Don’t be surprised if my neurons get disconnected in this heat. I simply cannot stand this preview to hell so screw this dry season 2024!!!!

I don’t know how long we can collectively tolerate this hellish season. The local weather guys are still adamant in calling these soaring temps a heatwave although I am already contemplating my climate change survival plan. My entire wardrobe needs to be overhauled to give way to heat deflecting clothes. I need to invest in less environmentally damaging air conditioner. Maybe I need to temporarily say goodbye to hot coffee which is a diuretic and not good on sweaty days. My habitat would need major renovation too—think wooden Balinese inspired house with high ceilings and airy ventilation. Maybe I need to move to North America. I’m really thinking of the longterm if we are to collectively survive as a specie in this tenuous climate scenario. Can you imagine how hot dry seasons will be in the Philippines in the next 5 or 10 years? If you can’t imagine I can’t either.

Weather whine session done. Now please hand me that strawberry creamsicle before I melt!