It’s been 9000 degrees here in L.A. and my A/C has been running around the clock just so I can breathe and not look like I’ve been hit by Super Soakers loaded with sweat. Terrified I’d get an $800 electric bill next month, I fled my home for the nearby Barnes & Noble because 1) it’s cold enough for penguins to live there and 2) it has books, food and bathrooms. What else do you need? (OK, maybe showers and a butler.)
I strolled the aisles, fondling books inappropriately, and these covers caught my eye:
Can you tell where my head was? I don’t know what these books are about or if I want to read them, but just looking at the covers has taken my body temp down about 60 degrees.
What book covers would represent your current state of mind?
21 Comments
Shell Sherree
July 16, 2010 at 6:59 pmI’m terrified about my electricity bill for the opposite reason ~ can’t crank the eco-heater up high enough! I’ll head out and fondle some books inappropriately and see if that works for me, too. 🙂
Pop Culture Nerd
July 16, 2010 at 7:18 pmBut you’ve got an eco-heater so your bill will probably only be half of mine! If you give me 20 degrees of your cold, I’ll give you 50 degrees of our heat. Fair trade, no?
Shell Sherree
July 17, 2010 at 6:50 pmI always suspected you were better at maths than me, PCN!
le0pard13
July 16, 2010 at 7:38 pmAnd wasn’t it Miami-like this morning with the hot rain? This time of year, when the monsoonal flow brings up the humidity in these parts, makes for some startling skies (thunderheads over the mountains and deserts to the north and east of us) and some pretty UN-comfortable people. I think there were brown-outs, too, today. Keep cool, Elyse 😉
Pop Culture Nerd
July 16, 2010 at 10:34 pmI’m very sensitive to weather. I feel really energized when it’s sunny and like Eeyore when it rains. Today, with the out-of-nowhere rain then sun, I was gloomy then happy and Jekyll and Hyde-y!
What are brown-outs?
You and your family stay cool, too. Thanks, Michael.
le0pard13
July 17, 2010 at 6:41 amA brownout is a temporary interruption of power service in which the electric power is reduced, rather than being cut as is the case with a blackout. As you’d expect, with yesterday’s weather, air conditioning use was high and the power grid was hit hard. The California ISO can institute brownouts to help the grid stay out of serious problems. HTH
Pop Culture Nerd
July 17, 2010 at 1:04 pmThanks for the explanation. I hope brownouts won’t occur when I’m in the shower. I hate when the lights flicker while I’m in there.
le0pard13
July 17, 2010 at 1:15 pmI believe my wife would agree you there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_XfUxXDldY&feature=related
Pop Culture Nerd
July 17, 2010 at 1:34 pmI knew you were going to do that! I was trying NOT to go there since I will have to shower again sometime soon. I first saw that movie when I was a kid and ended up stinky for about a week. Mama just could not get me to bathe.
le0pard13
July 17, 2010 at 1:45 pmSorry, couldn’t resist. When I was a kid, I distinctly remember my aunts talking amongst themselves and my mother just after they went to see Psycho. I believe they experienced a similar reaction like you back in 1960. Thanks, Elyse.
Poncho
July 18, 2010 at 11:29 pmI hadn’t heard of anyone having any trouble with that scene until today.
This one, on the other hand still keeps me away from sports-clubs’ showers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPgjOcdQ0fE
Pop Culture Nerd
July 19, 2010 at 12:40 amOh, forget it! I’m going to have nightmares tonight. Thanks a lot, Poncho!
Christine
July 19, 2010 at 6:45 amI am sooo glad I didn’t see this last night before trying to sleep, Poncho! Creepy!!!
Christine
July 18, 2010 at 9:15 amCan’t think of any book covers off the top of my head, but I’m liking the look of THE SWIMMING POOL! I’m more likely to experience cabin fever with weather like this than in the winter. You can remove every stitch of clothing and you’ll still be hot, wilted and miserable. (Not to mention scaring the public.) 😉
Come rain or shine, any time’s a good time to go to the local bookstore and fondle books inappropriately.
Pop Culture Nerd
July 18, 2010 at 12:55 pmCHRISTINE!!
Good to see you again! I tend to stay inside whenever it gets too hot OR cold. I rarely get cabin fever, though, because I can hunker down for days if I have enough food and books to read.
I scare the public all the time when the weather gets extreme. Once when I was in NYC and it was their coldest day in 85 years, I wore a huge down parka borrowed from a friend that made me look, in my husband’s words, “like a giant Michelin Man about to attack Tokyo.”
Jen Forbus
July 18, 2010 at 12:34 pmI’m stressing about my electric bill too. I think I’ve had my air on more this summer already than the whole of last summer…and we haven’t even hit August yet! Yee gads! I’m trying to keep the air as low as I can without melting my dogs. They handle the heat a lot worse than I. I’m a freeze baby. I can tolerate pretty hot. The humidity is the killer!
Tess Gerritsen’s new book ICE COLD might fit into your temp-dropping group, though.
I’m trying to think of a book cover that is well representative of chaos. My house is in chaos, my work is in chaos. I’ll be so glad for this coming week to be over…I already know I’ll be ridiculously busy at work. Not happy about this. I don’t like to wish my life away, but I’m praying this week goes by quickly!
Pop Culture Nerd
July 18, 2010 at 1:09 pmMy parents are coming to stay with me this week. I’m really excited to see them but have a lot of tidying and cleaning up to make my place guest-ready. I’ve been putting stacks of books in the guest bedroom for lack of a better place. I now have to find somewhere else to put them so my parents can actually have some space in there!
Christine
July 18, 2010 at 1:29 pmJen – Good luck breaking on through the next week! Hopefully, it’ll go smoother than you anticipate!
PCN – You could always stack the books in equal piles next to one another then cover with a cloth and Voila!, you have a nightstand! 😉 (Err, just remember to put something waterproof between the books and the cover.) Have a great visit with your parents!!!
Pop Culture Nerd
July 18, 2010 at 4:23 pmI already have several such “nightstands” and “end tables” and “coffee tables” around the place. The other day I bumped into one and it came crashing down. I think I need more stable—or maybe just actual—furniture.
Jen Forbus
July 18, 2010 at 3:40 pmHave a great visit!
Pop Culture Nerd
July 18, 2010 at 4:24 pmThanks, Jen! Hope your week turns out better than you think. At any rate, I have a feeling it’s going to fly by. Seems like this whole year is.