Spring Heat Wave

hot hot hot!

Melbourne is having a spring heat wave. Yesterday saw a high of 93°F (34°C). It was mostly the type of warm that holds you just enough to know it's there, but at the hottest part of the day could be described as "pressing". I closed off all the rooms collecting heat from the blazing sun and opened doors to create a draft.

This isn't even hot yet. Still, it felt awfully familiar to be opening every available window, setting up the fan, and slicing a lime into my never-ending water glass. I wonder if they have something like a tradewind here? Does Antarctica send a cooling breeze? Kelly, remember in Peru when the lady said the winter breeze came up from the ice caps? We are south of them here, so there maybe hope. (On the other hand, she was wearing a full winter jacket on a 60°F/16°C day.)

Working through scorching, suffocating heat didn't seem so bad in Grand Turk - there was a built-in escape clause every 20 feet. Granted, from here the beach is only a 10 min train ride and a several block walk, but it's not no 20 ft.

And no matter what type of job I end up with, it's not likely to necessitate regular snorkeling expeditions to monitor underwater 18th century cannons.

Or involve using DECR sanctioned hunting techniques to take lionfish off the reefs.

Or involve digging for 10,000 year old artifacts from extinct populations.

Or involve showing attention-starved children how to swim.

Or include 3-hour swims as health care benefits.

Or require DIY lessons for driving on the other side of the road.

Or include playing tour-guide to local celebrities. Or be a local celebrity.

I can't help reminiscing. Especially as I write these job applications - much of them center around my work at the museum. It was such an eventful and successful assignment that it's easy to tell future employers about my accomplishments with pride (and quantified results).

But anyway. Back to those applications. And reading the 40 page "Defining Aboriginality in Australia" by the Information and Research Services of the Parliamentary Library.

Yes, I do this for fun.