A warm 'Burque night
I like to go walking at night.
It's calm, it's quiet, it's cooler out than usual, and I get to walk under the moon rather than the Flaming Daystar. This is especially important in Albuquerque, where the Flaming Daystar cooks the city with its penetrative heat. I have lived in a few different summers now, and the heat in each place all has a different quality. Indiana has a steam bath sticky feeling to it, as does Wisconsin, though to a lesser extent. The heat of Albuquerque is like living in a stove going full blast. It is somewhat remiscent of a good Finnish sauna before you add water to the rocks, or water to yourself. It is the kind of heat that is deeply soothing for about a minute, and then your body starts to sweat--at which point, it begins to suck at your life.
This is not as bad as Phoenix or Tucson, but it's bad enough. So in the summer, you walk at the edges of the day. My preferred edge of the day is the twilight edge, because I am much better at staying up until six than getting up at six. And it can be lovely; I've been walking in the park at sunset recently, and it's been so nice my brain starts to produce poetry. (Seriously disturbing, that.)
But walking at night, actual night, is not so tenable here. I used to do it all the time (perhaps a leetle foolishly) in Indianapolis, but this is not really the city for that. There's enough weird noises in my apartment complex parking lot at night that, well, 'tis best avoided. And while there are places I could drive to to walk around--campus, under the floodlights, for instance--there is that whole driving thing. So easy to talk myself out of it!
However, they opened a pharmacy on the corner here. Literally a jump from my apartment. Which means I can indulge myself just a hair to walk over there, because it's about four steps from the edge of the parking lot to the entrance of their parking lot. And only if you take small steps. Not that it has a patch (in my mind) on the Best Walgreens ever, which is also walkable--but only during the day. So GLEE, I have a place I can walk to at night!
Well. For maybe two hours of night. But it's something, no?
It's calm, it's quiet, it's cooler out than usual, and I get to walk under the moon rather than the Flaming Daystar. This is especially important in Albuquerque, where the Flaming Daystar cooks the city with its penetrative heat. I have lived in a few different summers now, and the heat in each place all has a different quality. Indiana has a steam bath sticky feeling to it, as does Wisconsin, though to a lesser extent. The heat of Albuquerque is like living in a stove going full blast. It is somewhat remiscent of a good Finnish sauna before you add water to the rocks, or water to yourself. It is the kind of heat that is deeply soothing for about a minute, and then your body starts to sweat--at which point, it begins to suck at your life.
This is not as bad as Phoenix or Tucson, but it's bad enough. So in the summer, you walk at the edges of the day. My preferred edge of the day is the twilight edge, because I am much better at staying up until six than getting up at six. And it can be lovely; I've been walking in the park at sunset recently, and it's been so nice my brain starts to produce poetry. (Seriously disturbing, that.)
But walking at night, actual night, is not so tenable here. I used to do it all the time (perhaps a leetle foolishly) in Indianapolis, but this is not really the city for that. There's enough weird noises in my apartment complex parking lot at night that, well, 'tis best avoided. And while there are places I could drive to to walk around--campus, under the floodlights, for instance--there is that whole driving thing. So easy to talk myself out of it!
However, they opened a pharmacy on the corner here. Literally a jump from my apartment. Which means I can indulge myself just a hair to walk over there, because it's about four steps from the edge of the parking lot to the entrance of their parking lot. And only if you take small steps. Not that it has a patch (in my mind) on the Best Walgreens ever, which is also walkable--but only during the day. So GLEE, I have a place I can walk to at night!
Well. For maybe two hours of night. But it's something, no?