Melting...

New York City hit a record 104 on Friday, but the heat index was higher! Now, as a native Texan, I know anyone down south will read that and laugh in a casual, "yeah... and....?" kinda way. I've survived the 30 consecutive-100-degree-days that are becoming a staple for Texas summers, however may I remind you all that you travel from your centrally air-conditioned home to your SUV that may take 5-10 minutes for the AC to kick in, then you get out of your ice-box car and walk into an equally freezing store/gym/restaurant.

In New York City... there is no escape. My poor window unit is cranking out as much cool air as it can, but its a little guy, he can only do so much. As soon as I step out of my room, it hits! I'll shower and immediately start sweating, so I'll rush into my room to air dry. But as soon as I step out into the hallway of my apartment, the heat and humidity are present. Walking down the street provides a slight breeze, but there is the inevitable dissent into the subway. The guts of NYC, which today closely resembles the atmosphere inside a body, probably! Stagnant air so thick its difficult to take a deep breath. The thin layer of sweat already covering your body begins to pool into drops that roll down your back. If you're lucky a train will arrive shortly that is, God-willing, air-conditioned. However, on this particularly hot day, the train air-condition cannot keep up, so its a muggy mess inside the car. A traveling sauna makes its way from 145th St down to lower Manhattan.

Lucky for me I'm only riding til 57th St this day, where I'm transferring to make my way to Brooklyn. I'm working on a film shoot this afternoon. Now anyone who has ever had the pleasure of shooting a film knows that any time the camera is rolling, any noise making device must be turned off so as not to interfere with the sound. This includes AC & fans. So the sweating continues throughout the day! Joy! By 5 pm I have sweated through all of my clothes, but its pointless to return home to shower because of the above paragraph. What do I do? I bob over to H&M and buy a new outfit for $10. I love H&M!

I enjoyed a friend's show that night but immediately after I bid them goodnight and raced home dying for a shower! It's a sweaty business living in NYC in July! Glad I'm vacating for August!