Things I'm Gonna Do This Week- August 2012

A few years back, I was rehearsing a production of Godspell in a dance studio near Palm Springs.  It was early September, the summer heat hadn't died down, and because the studio was not only air conditioner-less but covered with an aluminum roof, I felt like I was dancing in an Easy Bake Oven.

There was one particular "day by day" that the blistering temperatures inside the studio got so bad, our little production of Godspell started to feel more like "Hellspell."  In response, the producer thoughtfully brought in some fans and blocks of ice in hopes of creating an old school air conditioner.  Unfortunately, all the invention did was make a really big puddle in the front of the room.  Still, I couldn't help but applaud the ingenuity of it all, particularly since we each got a gift card after that rehearsal to a local frozen yogurt shop.  "Bless the Lord, my soul" indeed!

Fast forward to 2012.  According to a report from the National Climatic Data Center, the past 12 months in the United States have been the warmest since record keeping began in 1895.  If this is how things are going to be for a while, then we need to get creative in our ways of staying cool.  More creative, that is, than sitting in front of a fan and a block of ice…  

Cue "Things I'm Gonna Do This Week."

For the next seven days, I'm going to explore the art of "staying cool."  Back home in Utah, that usually just means going downstairs to the basement that's always magically fifteen degrees cooler than the rest of the house.  But for those of us living without that luxury, or who want to do something besides hide in a basement, I'm going to strive to find ways to make hot days feel more like biting into a York peppermint patty.  Actually, that's not a bad idea…

So stay cool this week friends!  And if you don't, then come back next week to find out how.

View the results of Beat the Heat Week