Right now, it’s 40 degrees, but it ‘feels like’ 39. On May 5th. We are nearly halfway through the year, and we’re still having frost warnings. As anyone who knows anything about me knows, I love cold weather–the colder the better. The problem is that I do not love cold mixed with hot. Going from one to the other day to day is really fucking with my inner something or the other. Not sure what, but it’s really hard on my body. Even if it’s a steady 62 degrees in the house, my body is rebelling against the wild temperature swings. I mean, it was over seventy a few days ago, and now we’re almost below forty.
I switched the thermometer to AC once or twice in the past few weeks, but then I had to put it back to the heater for the rest of the time. It’s currently on heater and I’m just leaving it there because I don’t actually turn on the AC until it’s at least 75. It used to be even higher, but I’m living a little in my old age. Actually, I only keep it that low during my Taiji and Bagua routine and then bump it back up to 76.
I would not be unhappy if we did not go over eighty for the whole summer. not only do I hate hot weather, but I hate the bugs that the hot weather brings. Ants, flies, mosquitoes, wasps, and all the other jerks that I do not want to encounter. I rarely go outside for long stretches of time because all I see are enemies. One of the few times I had an outside private lesson with my teacher two years ago in the summer, I got bitten by a wasp. It got infected, and I had to go to the doctor.
Mosquitoes love me, too. I remember playing tennis with my father when I was younger. The mosquitoes would devour me while they left him strictly alone. It didn’t matter how much I drenched myself in mosquito repellant–I would be covered with bites by the time I got home.
When I was in my early twenties, I spent two months in Taiwan–in their summer. One time, the nurse at the house (long story) gave me a ride on her motorbike. Not a motorcycle–more like a scooter. When we got home, my legs were covered with mosquito bites–and I mean covered. There were upwards of forty of them on each leg. I didn’t know for sure because I lost count. Then, an hour later, they swelled up really badly. Each was about the size of a tangerine. I probably should have gone to the doctor, but I didn’t. I was lucky that nothing bad happened (other than massive itching), but it really underscored how much the outdoors hated me. It didn’t matter whether I like the outdoors or not because it fucking wants to kill me.
I joke that I like the outdoors as long as there is a wall between us (or a window). Not an open window, though. That still isn’t enough protection to make me feel comfortable.
I don’t think I can emphasize enough how I’m allergic to everything. My other joke is that I’m allergic to everything including air. That’s a joke, yes, but it’s not far from wrong.
I have a hard time with it because it’s hard to convey just how widespread my allergies are. Many people don’t believe in allergies in the first place, which is frustrating. Or they think that people are exaggerating. I don’t completely blame them beacuse many people do take liberties whilst talking about their allergies. When gluten became popular (as in, being gluten-free), many people with actual gluten allergies were not happy about it because so many people claimed to be gluten-free, but then ate something with gluten (in a restaurant).
People with real gluten-allergies found that it made servers more cynical in general about gluten allergies when the majority of the people who claimed to have one then went about merrily eating or drinking gluten. Several years later, though, one upside of the explosion of people claiming to be gluten-free is that there are so much better substitutions that are delicious in their own rights.
Thirty years ago when I went GF/DF/sugar-free to deal with bronchial issues, the subs were disgusting . Almost everything was made with tapioca, arrow root, or tofu–and 99% of it was ‘hold your nose and swallow’ gross. None of it tasted anything like it was supposed to, and I would have been better off if I had just not ate it at all. Then, after that, there was a period of time when GF/DF subs were…fine. As long as you didn’t think of them as subs, they were decent on their own. I would not give them rave reviews in general, but they were edible.
Then, after the explosion of ‘I eat GF’, there was a wave of truly insppired cooks and bakers who came up with great subs. Many of them stand on their own and aren’t able to be distinguished from the original. I am pleased about it. I’m also pleased that my brother told me about GlutenEase which allows a person to eat gluten. His girlfriend (also GF, heh) uses it, and he passed on that tip to me.
It works wonderfully as long as I don’t eat too much gluten afterwards. I can eat a few dumplings, some soy sauce, and a few bites of something else gluten. Anything more than that, though, and I will be affected. It won’t be as bad as it is if I don’t take the pill (hours on the toilet), meaning it’s uncomfortable bloating and maybe some flatulence. It’s not great, though, and I would prefer to avoid it if possible.
People ask if I miss gluten and dairy. No. I do not. Well, what I tell people is no because the fleeting moment of tasting good is nowhere worth the hours I will spend on the toilet.
More later.