I'm in Scottsdale, AZ this week. Yes, in the desert. My first time here, and it's already been an interesting experience. I knew it'd be hot, but was totally unprepared for the strong gust of hot air (92F) that hit me the moment I stepped out of the aeroplane at 8:30 pm on Sunday. Follow that up with turning down the hotel room's air conditioning all the way, and yet I couldn't sleep a wink on Sunday night (albeit, there is a small chance that stress contributed to it). Anyways, two days here, and I'm still amazed by the scorching heat! Thank heavens, the cafeteria serves decent food - I don't need to step out of the temperature-controlled office until late evening when the temperatures have dropped to the 90s.
Not surprisingly, one of the folks on my "grateful list' this week has been Willis Carrier aka the 'Father of Cool'. Near freezing temperatures, I can deal with - layer up and stay warm. But, how does one cope with the 100F+ heat? Just imagine, a local here said to me, "honey, as long as the temperature is below 110F, we are having a good day". I suppose after a while, people just adapt.
And, that reminds me of another observation - punctuating sentences with "honey" seems to be more common here than in other parts of the country. I've been "honeyed" so many times already, that I've actually noticed this trend, or maybe it's just my high "odd things" radar :P I'm always amused by how local lingo can sometimes, capture the essence of a place so well. For example, San Francisco's favorite word is "fabulous" ;)
Anyways, back to work....and as I write, there's a desert storm cooking up here. Watching those streaks of lightning against the desert backdrop is simply awesome - reminds me of how powerful nature truly is!
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