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Stardate: 20190905.1316
Location: Barnes and Noble patio
Input Device: Gemini PDA
Audio: Water fountains and muzak
Visual: Patio furniture, American flag, trees
Energy: still 95%
Mental: still 95%
Emotional: Warm, still rested
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Just finished going to the pictures. The show was at
10:35AM. I think that is the earliest I have ever been to
the pictures. I'm having another trente iced coffee from
Starbucks here at B&N. My friend, Ryan, jokes about how much
coffee I drink...well, it is true. I do drink a lot of
coffee. It doesn't really seems to phase me much though.
Actually, I probably need it just to get going, but I don't
really even think about using it that way. It is just a
daily beverage I consume.
It is a bit warm out here, but I'm pretty comfortable. I got
my iced coffee, I'm in the shade, and I have my neck fan.
Yeah, I picked up a neck fan from Amazon. It is this geeky
gadget doohickey that has 2 mini fans connected together in a
"U" shape that hangs around your neck. It kinda looks like
headphones. I got the black and red pair. They are
rechargeable via micro USB and the battery seems to last a
long time. I haven't done any capacity tests yet and I keep
charging them before the batteries are exhausted.
Oh, and it also has 3 speeds. I should run tests for all 3
speeds, just cuz.
Even though they are a bit geeky, I don't care. They have
made the past week or so that I have been using them quite
bearable. I can even walk around with them on at a brisk
pace without any problems. It would probably be a challenge
to run in them though, but I don't really do that unless I am
being chased or something.
At home, they are good too, even in the hot garage. The
house warms up quite a bit and we are just using fans. Most
months the house stays pretty cool, but this time of the year
has been pretty hot, even in the evening. I have
pseudo-engineered this fan/window air circulation setup where
I strategically try to cool down the house in the most
effective way...it seems to work, at least that is what I
tell myself. If I want hard data, I might have to bring out
the thermal imaging camera and conduct some tests. That
would be too much work though and I have some guitar to be
playin'.
The reason I got the got the neck fan is because I have some
serious personal HVAC issues. My body is not able to cool
itself like it used to and I am prone to heat exhaustion and
heat stroke. Oh, and also because my wife says I smell like a
wet dog when use a cooling towel so I got a bit
self-conscious and looked for alternatives.
A couple years ago, I was driving my son home from soccer
practice. He rode shotgun and I drove. His practice was in
the evening and it was still hot in the evening. I had the
windows down since I was not feeling so well. As we were
driving, my vision started to blur and I started fading out
whenever we got to a stop light. When the light changed and
we started moving again, I would start to fade back and gain
consciousness. Since there were other cars on the road, I
kept my distance...driving like 20 where the speed limit was
40mph...
My son inquired why I was driving so slow. I just told him I
was not feeling so well and that we would be home soon...that
I just needed to keep the air and the music going...
...and said a prayer to God to have Him get us home safely.
I did not know what was going on with me and I should have
stopped right then and there and had him call me an
ambulance. But no, I'm good.
So we continued homeward and I kept going in and out of
consciousness. I felt like a drunk driver. When we got to
our street, I missed it and had to go around for a lap. When
we got to the driveway and parked, I thanked God and started
getting out of the car...
I opened the car door and stepped out. Next thing I knew, I
was lying on the pavement between the car door and the
driver's seat. I was like, WTF, how'd I get here?
My son asked if he should get Mom. I said, "No, I'm OK." I
got up and noticed a scrape on my knee since I was wearing
shorts. I started walking around the car and collapsed again
in front of the garage door. Again, when I came too, I'm
like WTF?! He says again, "Do you want me to get Mom?" I
relented and told him to go get her.
They helped me get to the couch by the window in the house
that was still quite warm at 9 in the evening. I took off my
shirt and they got me some water and tested my blood
sugar...which was actually fine. I just told them that I
need to rest by the window.
When I had rested for a bit, I made my way downstairs to the
bedroom, which is cooler than the family room (street level.)
I took a shower and then went to bed.
Later that evening, I awoke, took out my phone, and started
researching my symptoms. It turns out that I had just
experienced a heat stroke. Well, that was my laymen's
diagnosis. It made sense with how the day went...I worked
from home in the hot house, drank a lot of hot coffee, went
to my kid's school for back to school night in a hot
auditorium without a/c, walked a bunch of laps around the
soccer field while they practiced, and did not drink hardly
any water (which had been my usual deal since before this
incident since coffee is mostly water, right?) The
conditions were perfect for this incident to manifest. I
should have gone to the hospital, but of course I didn't.
After I got my head on a little straight, I started thinking
about this and could not believe how irresponsible and
hard-headed I was. I put my son, myself, and other people in
harms way by being stubborn and not taking care of myself. I
ignored all of the messages that God was sending me. I
definitely lost a lot of parenting points that day, heck,
they should even take away my parenting badge and knock me
down a few levels. I jest, but this was a serious incident
and my wife and my daughter might not have a father/husband,
son/brother anymore due to my recklessness.
OK, so to sum it up, heat exhaustion and heat strokes are
serious business, mmmkay? Don't be a dummy...stay hydrated,
get a neck fan, and take care of yourself before it's too
late!
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