Last week, summer walked through the door, plonked her suitcases down in the hall, and hollered "Yoo-hoo! I'm back! Did ya'll miss me?"
Last week, a very nice young man also came by the house and explained that we can spend an exorbitant amount of money to repair our ancient heat pump now and again in a year or two, or we can spend an exorbitant amount of money to get a shiny new unit installed that will last another dozen years. Clearly we see the logic in option 2 except for one small, teeny tiny detail. We do not have an exorbitant amount of money.
We are without air conditioning in South Carolina in the summer. Bless our hearts.
Now I know perfectly well people survived summers in the Southeastern United States before air conditioning existed. The methods are simple. Capture any slight breeze. Keep rooms dark. Use as few heat-producing appliances as possible. Wear lightweight, airy fabrics. Drink lots of iced tea, or better yet, mint juleps and gin and tonics. (Note: We need more bourbon and tonic water. And gin.)
It's working for now, but the end is nigh for this coping method. (Except for the booze. We'll continue defeating the heat with booze.) Nighttime temperatures are still low enough to cool the house, but that will only last a week or two longer at most. Therefore Darling Husband and I have begun exploring other options because we are wimps who would shudder at the thought of July and (Oh, dear Lord!) August temperatures, except shuddering takes far too much energy and makes us sweat more. Instead we lounge here like slugs and estimate how long we can fool ourselves into thinking it really isn't all that hot.
And so, lo and behold, after two years of being a SAHM, I'm looking for paying work. This is somewhat hampered by the fact that I'm also attempting to change career paths. And that all my job references seem to have retired and disappeared into the winds. They're probably traipsing about Europe and East Asia enjoying their hard-earned retirement accounts. Can't blame them, really. Sounds heavenly. I fully intend to do the same, someday. But their timing is a bit unfortunate.
So now I'm a writer monkey for hire. I am also a fabulous researcher, excellent editor, fairly decent at formatting, above average typist, and a very fast learner. I'm honest, efficient, and a stickler for details. (I used to be modest, but I got over it. Modesty doesn't buy bacon and fried egg sandwiches. Or booze.)
Wish me luck!
