Days like these

It was either 98 degrees of 100 degrees, depending on which media outlet you trust. Either way, it was the hottest day in Philadelphia in 4 years. This follows by a few weeks some of the most extreme flooding seen in years. In all, I'm told that this is the most extreme weather in 100 years. Oh dear.

And yet I managed to avoid the slug-like existence that usually marks my Mondays. I went out last night, but purposely controlled myself and only had a couple of drinks. I just didn't relish the thought of waking up with a hangover and wasting all day today. So, a couple of drinks later, I went home at a decent time last night and managed to sleep a full 5 hours -- damn that ridiculous internal alarm clock that woke me up at 6 freakin' AM this morning. Arrgghh!

But I managed to nap again for a few hours and woke up refreshed and ready to tackle my Monday. I did some exploring -- driving my car for only the third time since coming to Philly on June 28 -- and finally saw a little bit more than the route that our shuttle takes to work daily. The plan for the day was to head to America's second-biggest mall, but the drive there nearly killed me. It was only 30 or 40 minutes, but it was so freakin' hot that I nearly expired on the way. Usually, my non-air-conditioned Jeep is fine. I'm a big fan of WD-120 air conditioning: Windows Down, 120 km per hour. But today, the wind in my hair was so uncomfortably, stinkin' hot that I felt like I was getting blown dry. Not fun.

Finally, I made it to my destination and did a wee bit o' shoppin'. Not that I need anything, but I'm never one to turn down yet another funny printed t-shirt a bargain. Needless to say, I left with a few things to stuff into the two suitcases that I call my worldly possessions. Just what I needed -- more crap : )

I finally feel like I actually did something on my day off instead of just recovering from a hangover, overwork, or whatever else is ailing me. Days like these are good. Hot, but good.

PS: for America's second-biggest mall, I was pretty seriously disappointed. Just nothing really spectacular, ya know?