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Last week’s heat wave was an eye-opener. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced before in this province. It was beyond just some minor discomfort that could be remedied by a cold drink.

It was so hot I had trouble sleeping. Simply just existing was a chore. I lost my appetite and ate less than usual. I normally get water from my hot water dispenser but it was so hot that I couldn’t bear to drink water that wasn’t cold. I usually have to refill the dispenser every night before I go to bed but during the heat wave, I didn’t touch it for about four days straight. I didn’t drink coffee during that time, again because it was just too hot for that.

Sadly, the heat wave was also deadly. Hundreds of people died last week because of the heat. It’s unbelievable that such an event could occur here in this province and lead to tragedy. This province isn’t really prepared for heat waves of that magnitude. Our homes are designed mainly to keep people warm when it gets cold, not to move heat out of the home. Air conditioning historically has been viewed as an optional luxury. I know that’s how I’ve felt in the past.

I’m not sure if we can keep thinking like that. The world is changing and we must change with it. I don’t know how I lucked into it but I was able to order a portable air conditioner last week. It arrives either tomorrow or the day after. I only have sliding glass doors in apartment and not actual windows, so making this portable A/C unit fit is going to be a challenge that I haven’t solved yet. I will endeavour to be ready for the next heat wave however. I need to be prepared for the next one.

One week ago today, I received a Moderna vaccine shot. Having had a AstraZeneca shot for my first, I am one of those who mixed and matched different vaccine technologies.

As some of you might recall, I had a fairly large immune response to my first shot. I had an incredibly uncomfortable 16 hours of side effects, which included a debilitating headache, muscle aches, chills, and fever. Before my second shot was administered I was warned that there was a strong possibility that I would have just as an intense response or even greater. This warning alone was cause for concern but the day after my shot was forecasted as a dangerously hot day. I was afraid that I would have to deal with side effects plus the heat.

Oddly, I experienced virtually no side effects from the second shot. That’s not to say I was comfortable last Monday. The extreme heat was unbearable. It’s possible that perhaps I did feel some discomfort from the shot but it was masked by the effects of the heat. I can only say with certainty that the slight sore arm was caused by the shot and not the heat.

I am now one week away from being “fully” vaccinated and I am feeling an increasing sense of relief. The mask wearing policy given by public health officials in this province changed a few days ago and mask wearing is now just recommended in public indoor spaces for those who not fully vaccinated. I am taking this recommendation to heart as I believe adherence to public health guidance and vaccines has allowed this province to be reach this level of success.

One week to go.

Last night was an absolute challenge to weather the unbearable heat that has oppressed this province. I did not get a lot of sleep. The morning brought some surprising relief. There was the slightest of hint of breeze coming in through my windows.

The temperature dropped four degrees in the morning so that my apartment was “merely” 30 degrees Celsius. In non-crazy times, such a temperature would have been very uncomfortable but compared to 34 degrees, it felt like it was a crisp autumn day.

It hovered around 30 for most of the entire day. It was still uncomfortable to deal with such heat but I felt like it was a manageable situation, as opposed to yesterday where it felt like the Earth was on fire.

It’s almost bedtime for me now and the temperature has lowered even more, down to a “chilly” 29 degrees Celsius. I have been pretty much naked anytime I’m in my apartment since Saturday and tonight, I may actually put on a shirt before I crawl into bed.

I feel really tired because of the lack of sleep for two days in a row. I’m hoping the cooler temperature tonight will allow me to get a bit more rest. The forecast calls for another hot day tomorrow with a high of 29 degrees, and finally the weather cooling down to a more respectable 24 degrees by Thursday.

Will this be the only massive heat wave this summer? I don’t know.

It’s hard to believe the photo above was taken today, while in the greater Vancouver area. According to my automobile, it was 40 degrees Celsius outside. It actually read 42 degrees later but I was too hot to take a photo. Unbelievable!

It simply has never been this hot in this province before. In fact, records show that to be correct. The town of Lytton, became the hottest place in Canada ever, with a high just below 48 degrees Celsius. That’s hotter than Las Vegas has ever been. Let that sink in for a second. A city famously located in a desert has never been as hot as it was this week in Lytton.

It was so hot today, my employer gave everyone the afternoon off to deal with the heat and to tend to their families and pets. My apartment reached a high of 34 degrees today. The air feels like a furnace. Everything is hot to the touch, including my bed sheets, front door, everything! It’s well after midnight and it is still 31 degrees in my apartment. I didn’t sleep well last night, I don’t expect to sleep well again tonight.

In all my years, I’ve never thought it was necessary to have air conditioning in my home while living in B.C. but I have changed my mind now. It’s too late to get A/C for this current heat wave but once summer winds down, it’ll be time for me to get a portable A/C unit.

Over the weekend, the temperature in my apartment has stayed at a hell-mimicking 31 degrees Celsius. For Vancouver, it has been unbearably hot for the last several days. If I had to struggle to remember when it was this hot, it might have been one odd summer night either in 1993 or 1994 when the heat just seemed to be oppressively hot. It has been like that but more so since about Friday.

For the first time that I can recall, school has been cancelled for some local school districts because it is going to be so hot tomorrow. This doesn’t happen in this province usually.

I don’t have air conditioning in my apartment, so respite from this heat has been far and few between. I was cool for about ten minutes when I went inside Safeway for some groceries on Saturday. I was also cool inside my car when I had to run errands on Saturday and when I went to see my family on Sunday. Otherwise, I just suffered in silence.

I did not sleep well on Saturday night. It was just too hot to get comfortable enough for sleep, even though I was exhausted. I am coping by drinking water cooled in my freezer and running a useless fan in my apartment. On Sunday, it was so hot, I didn’t even feel hungry for the entire day. I actually even felt a tinge of nausea at one point.

Hilariously, it supposed to be even hotter on Monday, with a high of 34 degrees, hotter than that if you’re unlucky to be further in land and away from the water. It is supposed to drop down to a “cooler” 28 degrees on Wednesday.

I hope I can get some more rest tonight because I have to work tomorrow.

Tonight, TBS aired Conan O’Brien’s last show on their network. After three incarnations of his late night TV show, Conan is now done with the format. His career in late night goes back to 1993 but even before then, he found success as a writer at Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. I remember he used to position himself as the nervous rookie in late night who knew nothing, surrounded by giants like Letterman and Leno. He is now the elder statesman of TV.

Conan isn’t retiring though. He and some of his staff will take a few months to create a new show for HBO Max. No one knows what the show will be or how many they’ll make in a year but we do know it’ll be different than the traditional late night TV show.

Congrats to Conan and all his staff (past and present) for an amazing run that has spanned decades and thousands of shows. Thank you for providing me with countless laughs and enjoyment.

Ok, so maybe it’s still summer right now and it’s been hot for the last few days and it will get even hotter this weekend but I’d like to remind everyone in the northern hemisphere that the days are now getting shorter. Before we know it, the warm weather will give way to rain and cold for another half a year.

While I understand that July and August are traditionally warmer than May and June, I’ve always enjoyed May and June a tad more because the days are still getting longer for those months. As opposed to things going downhill, we’re still building to something instead. Alas, the longest day of 2021 has already passed us by.

We’re currently in a heat wave here in the greater Vancouver area. According to my thermometer in my bedroom, it was as hot as 28 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours. I woke up all sweaty this morning. I had to turn on the fan for most of the day. It’s supposed to get even hotter this weekend. I know people are buying air conditioners for the last several days. Maybe one year I’ll break down and get one myself. So far, it’s been bearable for me.

I may buy a new TV this week. That is all.