This heat wave in Cape Town is becoming unbearable. The shortlived thunderstorm last night did little to relieve things, and only succeeded in terrifying the neighbourhood cats and dogs.
Today, with the temperature well above 30°C, I closed all the windows and blinds against the baking sun (yes, you guessed it, my home faces north!!) turned on the fans, and settled down to a productive day’s work at the computer, all smug in my undies thinking of the poor folk out there facing a day at their office.
What an odd feeling it is to be “under house arrest”. One phone call and a few e-mails have been my only contact with the outside world. This set me pondering again on how life has changed, and how dependent we have become on electricity. The blackouts last year very forcibly brought this home : no power = no computer, TV, microwave, kettle, sound system, heater, cooler, geyser, fridge, lights, (if you wanted to *gasp* actually read a book).
In this weather, I can imagine that every aircon unit in the peninsula is working overtime. Maybe the guys who went to the office had the right idea after all.
And staying indoors for a day also drives home what a very small cog each of us is in this cosmos – life simply goes on. Doesn’t it? Granted, someone may have noticed my absence, but it didn’t make a significant dent in anything. Keeps one humble.
As for the productive day ….well, let’s just say I’ll try again tomorrow! Apart from wilting like my poor pot-plants, my main problem is dry eyes causing blurred vision. The heat is a huge factor here of course, but there is the added affect of the fan circulating this hot dry air in its feeble attempt to improve things. The cherry on top is working at the PC : staring at a screen reduces one’s blink rate to almost half of the normal 10-30 times per minute. This leaves your conjunctiva dry and unlubricated. No wonder I can’t see clearly.
So on that somewhat defeatist note, I think I shall have to apply some tried and trusted conjunctival rescue medicine – an ancient remedy handed down by generations and fiercely guarded by my ancestors. Wake me in an hour please.
© Anna G. Hall
