Summer Of Anguish
So… Winter has ended in the Southern Hemisphere of the world. Already the days have warmed up dramatically. Just a week after cold 10-15 degree days (in celsius of course, because that’s how we do it in this country 
), there were 30 degree days… and today as I am typing this has been very warm.
If its only going to get hotter from here, I’m really not looking forward to the summer.
Then again, I really don’t like the summer time. I can’t for the life of me understand why so many people in this country just LOVE it. And we are talking about a country situated right under a gaping hole in the ozone layer… you could say that Skin Cancer is our national cancer, as its one of the most common causes of death here.
But anyway, here’s why I prefer winter over summer in a few key point…
- It is far easier to warm up in the cold than to cool down in the heat.
Yes… all you do to warm up in the cold is put on more clothes, shut the windows, maybe get under a blanket. To cool down in the heat is not so simple. You can be completely naked from shedding all of those clothes that are too hot and you’ll still not have cooled down at all. Opening the windows is a slight improvement, but the air is still hot. If its too hot, turning a fan on is only going to blast your face with warm air. Other than getting wet by taking a swim or a cold bath/shower, the only way to cool down is to get an air conditioner… and those are so freaking expensive to buy and will cost a fortune after that in electrical bills.
- Winter clothes look better than Summer clothes.
Here’s part of a song by comedic band Tripod to sum this one up…
“Fear of shorts,
Fear of shorts,
Fear of shorts.
Fear of shorts,
Fear of shorts.
Even when it’s hot,
When it’s really, really hot…
… hot…
… hot…
Nup!
Fear of shorts,
Fear of shorts,
Fear of shorts.
Even when your girlfriend,
Says you look fine…
… fine…
… fine…
Nup!
Fear of shorts,
Fear of shorts,
Fear of shorts.
(Indicating decreasing trouser lengths) Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, Nup, nup, nup, nup!
Fear of shorts.”
Of course, this is entirely a subjective point, but for me at least I prefer the look of long pants and jackets. I absolutely refuse to wear shorts under any circumstances.
- Hayfever
Yeah I know that Hayfever is mostly associated with Spring time, but I still feel it as badly during Summer. Its only in late Autumn and during Winter that Hayfever doesn’t cause my sinuses to flare up and dribble like a leaky tap. The only people who could possibly be happy with this situation are the pharmaceutical companies who manufacture antihistamine pills.
- Winter Smells Better
The smell of a nice wood fire on a cold winter night is very pleasant. Its one of the little things that I enjoy when I go on an early evening walk around my neighbourhood and the neighbours have fires going. The excessive stink of B.O. from intense Summer time sweating is not so pleasant.
- Where did the bugs go? Why do I even care?
Bugs, flies and spiders literally crawl out of the woodwork when the weather warms up. While bugs tend to only be a minor annoyance, flies are just plain dirty… not to mention the fact that many of the spiders in this part of the world are some of the most venomous spiders in the world.
- Heat leads to lethargy and apathy
I’ll admit that getting out of bed in the Winter is an accomplishment… its so warm under the blanket and so cold out of it… but its not such a problem once you’re up. Heat saps energy… energy needed to do what you need to in a day and to give a damn about it all. Its no coincidence then that my depression is at its worst when the weather is at its hottest. On the other hand, when its cold out there, I feel more inclination to be active.
Yes… it all sounds all ‘bah humbug’… even more the case because Christmas is in the middle of Summer here. Yes I sound very pessimistic, but I can’t just give a fake smile and lie and act like I love the Summer. The only reliable bright side is that I have more job opportunities in this line of work. A less reliable bright side is the cool, late afternoon – evening southerly wind and thunderstorm that ends some of the hottest days refreshingly… but those days are few and far between.
Anyway, one of these days, when I get out of this place, I’m definitely moving somewhere colder.
Leave a Reply