There are days I feel drained.
As if my energy tank had lost the bung out of its bunghole.
The frog (I suspect it is a Mexican tree frog) sat on the window grill of my guest bedroom for two days. Maybe he simply did not have the energy to go make tadpoles.
I know how he felt. About not having energy.
Our weather here has decided to do its best impression of September. As you know, I headed off to the highlands for the months of August and September to avoid what is traditionally our most tortuous months in tropical Jalisco. And the moderate 50 degree mornings of the highlands were like gifts from heaven.
This past week, the combination of temperatures and humidity in Melaque has driven the "feels like" indicator consistently over 100. I can tolerate a lot of weather. But it does get more difficult when it is a lot of weather -- repeatedly. Like being force fed papaya.
My usual coping skill is to sit in the shade with a book while a fan does its yeoman best to make me believe there is a breeze. The kind of breeze you would feel on Molokai.
Even my Mexican neighbors are complaining about the inability to sleep. When I get to bed early (around midnight or 1 AM), I regularly end up staying awake until 4 AM.
The heat has really taken the joy out of my recent house-hunting high. Today I started asking myself what on earth I am thinking? Buying a house on the coast because I liked the highlands?
Earlier in the week I received a long list from my realtor in Oregon of projects she thinks need to be done to upgrade the house for the current market. They are all quite logical. But if I were to complete the list, I would move back into the house myself. And I would undoubtedly make changes that a new buyer would not like.
So, here I sit on the back porch. My Kindle at hand. My fan at foot. Putting away big decisions for a week or two.
Because I can.
36 comments:
In addition to the heat and the consequent lack of sleep, could it be that your low feelings are related to the traumatic accident you witnessed?
If so, give yourself a break. Post traumatic stress is a very human reaction that sneaks up a few days (or weeks) after the event and affects witnesses to trauma as well as victims. Just saying...
Cdubee may be right. However, I do not like papaya. I do not like coastal heat, having lived in it most of my life in southern Louisiana. There's got to be a better solution to your housing quest.
See......there is something that I tell people when they ask me about the climate and how I can handle it. I tell them that I can always put on a sweater or two, but if I lived on the coast you can only take off so much before people would start pointing and laughing at you.....
Maybe your indecision is telling you to look at the highlands somewhere and visit the coast on the best part of the year?
Perhaps it is time to rethink the coastal living situation?I really would have guessed you more of a high country guy. First and foremost though, I suggest plugging the bunghole.
I need to look no further than the weather bug on my computer to diagnose the cause of my lack of sleep. Yesterday was about as muggy as any day I have experienced down here.
Sticking with my rental gives me flexibility. And our weather should break in the near future.
Whatever I do, I know I need to get my Oregon house on the market. It truly is a drain.
I have considered the possibility that being away from the heat for two months now makes it seem worse. But my Mexican neighbors' reactions to our heat wave says that it is not just me.
Yeah, but they have to live there...they own the house....
A factor that has been rolling around in my brain this week.
GLAD you're rethinking the whole thing! To me, the best of all worlds would be to set up a continuous rental in "the Highlands" as you refer to it for 4 months or whatever, and the a continuous rental in the "lowlands". Even I can't take those muggy days anymore - course if you were on the beach there is always a sea breeze but not back where you are living at present.
Every year the same suffering, and yet you want to settle there permanently with your own home. What a strange man.
Of course, much of the sleep problems could be easily resolved with an air-conditioner. But you have none. Again, a strange, strange man.
Sometimes it's like watching those Filipinos letting themselves be nailed to a cross.
Sometimes having too many big decisions to make all at once, end up in a stalemate. Taking one thing at a time and letting the rest out of mind, helps in processing and making the next move forward...
And anyone who doesn't sleep till 4am days at a time, well, but that can be remedied, and I don't think it's affordability--but why you refuse an AC in that heat, I haven't a clue.
I have to say that I am constantly surprised by your desire to live on the hot, humid Mexican coast after having read your blog for quite some time while you lived in Oregon. There, you wrote more than one post about how you liked cool weather, kept your house at a temperature that would have personally frozen me out, and didn't much enjoy hot days. I have to say, I'm a bit with Felipe on this one.
Meanwhile, the Mexican highlands have about the most fabulous climate possible. Here in DF the weather has been amazing, in the 70's during the day, and the 60's at night. As we approach winter, you can subtract 10-15 degrees from those numbers, and in the summer, add maybe 10. Now DF may well not be for you, but you can find a similar climate elsewhere easily enough. As I'm fond of saying when it comes to heat, "Altitude trumps latitude."
This is a link to a house I've fantasized about as a country getaway. It's in the mountains between DF and Cuernavaca and sits at about 2,600 meters of altitude (8,500 feet). There the climate is much cooler than DF, and you'd have both DF and Cuernavaca within a convenient drive. It'd be perfect for a dog and only set you back a mere $57K USD. I can't imagine that the neighbors there would be any less "back woods" (if you'll pardon the expression) than your current neighbors. And the wealth of cultural opportunities in Cuernavaca and DF would be amazing.
http://casa.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-409208264-hermosa-casa-en-pleno-bosque-1300-mts-_JM
In any case, I hope you feel better. Don't rush into buying a house until you are quite, quite sure. Meanwhile, I'd work on selling the Salem House.
Saludos,
Kim G
DF, México
Where we continue to house-shop on and off.
Love it! The latitude affects your attitude! " Because I can" !!! MAÑANA at its best!! Next will be a photo of a cold Pacifica next to a paperback under a swaying palm tree with Jimmy Buffet playing in the background.. You go Steve!
Dan in NC
Is the beach becoming your hair shirt, Steve? Is the suffering you're going through, which is becoming worse with each passing year, a sign that you're meant to buy that house in the highlands and enjoy the winter months at the beach?
BTW there is a tropical cyclone trying to form around Acapulco and heading north...so that's why your weather is gastly!
We have been without our usual sea breeze this week. I suspect that is why the humidity is so high.
This year I thought I had timed my rturn to Melaque perfectly. I was wrong.
I do not fit the martyr role. I am far too whiny.
Most of he year the beach is fine. But I am quickly convincing myself that it may not be good enough for home ownership.
One of the joys of living here is that I really do not need to make any decisions at all. Things always work themselves out in the end.
It is easy for me to blame my 4 AM bed time on the heat. That has my my usual bed time for years -- and I stayed up that late in the highlands, as well.
You are correct. The Salem house is about to get my full attention. Whether or not I buy a home down here, it has to go.
In my case, attitude trumps latitude. Ax a rule, weather is not a major factor fr choosing a place to live. If it were, I would live in London. That is why I stay on the beach. I like the attitude here. It is almost a libertarian retreat.
Our weather is usually not affected by stems that far south. But it can happen.
kinda like, for me, "If I only did things I'm good at, I'd never get out of bed in the morning."
I like that.
Went to Soriana today. Noticed a nice little LG window AC, 5,000 btu, for $2,500 pesos. Looked easy to install, not like the big muthas of yesteryear. Of course, were you to buy one, you would have nothing to whine about, which is always good blog material. Pulling our heartstrings.
There is always the Oregon coast that Jiggs loved so much. It is something to consider. You had said it was too cold. But that is in the winter.
It is also in high-tax Oregon.
Exactly. And then what incentive would I have to move to the highlands.
It feels like a sauna in the house tonight.
hmm... ok...sleep is good...have a good night.
And I seem to sleep fine with my daily nap -- in the heat of the day.
On the Oregon house, sell it the way it is. A little lipstick maybe but let the next person have the "fun". The realtor just wants you to make their job easier. They make a good buck on a sale-let them earn their money.
I am going to put a bit of sweat equity into the place. But that is about it.
Sleep deprivation affects every aspect of your life. I too, am not a very good sleeper, and after several days running of almost no sleep I can see it affecting my mood, my ability to think rationally, as well as my energy level. A couple of good nights sleep and you'll be good as new!
I am using long naps to make up the difference. For some reason, I sleep much better in the afternoon than at night.
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