Becky Says...

August 2007

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Idiots and Orphans - August 7

It's been an interesting week already, and we're only two days in.

Monday afternoon my computer's adapter managed to die a spectacular death, in that the cord broke off at the plug. It's still hanging on by a thin sliver of covering, but it's clearly not fixable, so I'm not even going to ask the friend who knows how to fix such disasters to help out with this one. I just went ahead (using the computer's fully-charged battery) and ordered a new adapter.

The good news in that is the price of those things has gone way down since the last time I needed one.

Actually, that's the secondary good news. The primary is that the older computer is still working quite well. It is significantly slower (less memory), but it is a trooper and I'm delighted to have it for backup.

All the same, I'll be glad to have the newer one back. I hadn't realized quite how much I've taken advantage of the Firefox plugins and such until I didn't have them handy!

Also, a private note to those who usually see me on various IM programs: some of them don't work on this machine, so if you need me send e-mail.

Then came Tuesday. I was out of a couple of things, and knew I'd need to be available for the adapter delivery later in the week, so I got ready to go to the grocery store, knowing it was going to be seriously hot. I had thought I might take advantage of the bus going in both directions this time (I usually do take it to the store, but walk home).

So off I went, ice water at the ready. I got to the store and got what I needed, in more than plenty of time to catch the bus and ride back around.

And that's when my stupid kicked in. It was hot outside, but it was also hazy, which made it seem cloudy. There was some breeze, and it really didn't feel quite as hot as it was. So I looked at my watch and decided I could be at least 90 per cent of the way home before the bus would come, and decided walking would do just fine.

And for about the first half of the trip, it did. Then the haze faded, the sun came back out in full force, and I had reason to think I was going to be ill. So I sat down to cool off. One of my neighbors, a young man I hadn't met, came walking by and asked if I were all right.

I told him I was, but that I'd really appreciate some company the rest of the way home. He and I started out, then I realized I needed to sit down again. That's the weird thing about heat exhaustion; until you stop you may not realize quite how bad off you might be.

My companion realized I wasn't doing well, and took the ice water bottle from me, as well as the baby wipe I had been using to wipe my face. He wrapped the wipe around the bottle to get it a little cooler (it was already wet, and it was more important that I drink the remaining water), then wiped my face and neck with it.

Lather, rinse repeat, until we finally got to the end of the pavement before the dirt path back to the apartment complex. At that point, he decided the best thing was to go on his own and get his car to get me the rest of the way home. Although I think I could have made it the rest of the way on foot (with frequent rest breaks), I could tell this was a much more sensible choice.

So I sat and rested the few minutes till he got back, then thoroughly enjoyed the air-conditioned ride home.

I'm fine now, but I've definitely learned my lesson. I had been told that once one had had a bout of heat exhaustion it was much more likely one would be stricken again, but I wasn't quite sure that was true. I am now convinced, and will not risk it again.

The title of this entry comes from a saying my mother used fairly often, that God watched out for idiots and orphans. After the events of Monday and Tuesday, I definitely agree.

Text © copyright 2000-2007 Becky