Intense Heat (猛暑)

I've alluded to the concept of Natsubate, 夏ばて, or Summer Heat in Japanese, before. It's the concept of being tired from the heat, weariness from the summer temperatures. I also theorized that people grow a little dumber during the summer, due to the brain melting. Not a scientific theory, but definitely possible that productivity decreases, attention span wavers as one worries about how hot it is in the office, sweating, etc. All the long days might be a factor too, at least for me here in sunny Southern California: so many daytime hours, so many opportunities to go outside and do fun activities, not as much time to be smart, stay indoors and read books, etc. 

Just in time for summer 2016 (officially begins today), LA is enduring a heat wave, or mousho.  Temperatures in the 100 degrees! Perfect time to go to work, bring your own lunch, and don't leave the office unless you have to! It's the kind of temperature that I was warned about as a kid, where people in Chicago died due to heat exposure, etc. It's hot enough to bake an egg, it's hot enough to make one lose their appetite (literally), it's hot as balls, lots of things can describe how hot it is tomorrow. Makes one wonder how people survived back in the day without air conditioning. Also makes me consider soberly that the human body is so frail: we have to be at just the right temperature (68 degree room temperature) to be comfortable, anything too cold or too warm and we start complaining. Imagine other planets, other solar systems with uninhabitable conditions: it's really a miracle that life even exists. 

The biggest factor that contributes to Natsubate, though, is just being exhausted after spending even just a little time outside. Every move seems like a chore, walking outside seems like walking into a sauna except with one's clothes on. I tried to wash my car manually today (apparently frowned on in SoCal) and expended so much energy I was forced to take a nap afterwards. After I came indoors, I could still feel the heat in my body, on my skin, all over my body, and it takes a while (and a few sips of my favorite, ice water, to cool down). That's why I recommend traveling in the fall, folks. Avoid the summer rush. 



Having endured many summers (my 29th one!) I have some experience as to how to best spend it. It's good to have something define the summer, separate it from all the other summers in one's life. Summer tends to be the most memorable time of the year due to the long days, active lifestyle, school not being in session, etc. It could be vacationing, summer camp, some kind of job, summer school (ech, hope it's not that), or just hanging out in the neighborhood, at the local pool or something. I've had all of those, my last one in 2015 highlighted mostly by a trip to Greece and Turkey and Toronto. This summer, I'm for the first time not spending it alone (well, romantically at least) and have my wonderful girlfriend with me! Yay! But the defining thing for me will be this game called trampoline dodgeball, dodgeball except on a court full of trampolines. Really fun, seriously tiring, and higher risk of injury, it's not for the faint of heart, but my team qualified and will compete in the 2016 Ultimate Dodgeball tournament in SkyZone Las Vegas August 407! Yes! Happy start of summer everyone! 
Fantasize on, 

Robert Yan