Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Summer Comes To Me

I have to confess something. I've boycotted summer this year. That's right, I'm not having anything to do with it, I'm pretending it doesn't exist. I do have an excuse though, with the health stuff that's going on at the moment, a few hours in the heat leaves me wiped out and in bed for days. I'm far happier (and healthier) if I stay inside air conditioning.

It does mean however that I'm missing out on all the fun summer festivals. Tonight I would have gone to the Seki Fireworks Display and tomorrow to a Bon Odori dance.

Luckily, I have been to both before, so I don't feel like I'm missing out too much.

Today, in I was on my computer in air conditioned comfort when I heard a funny little noise. A cicada had come to visit and remind me of the summer outside. It serenaded me for a while, before it flew away to partake in the summer fun on my behalf.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

hello .
are there the same in australia?
in france they are very small and don t make so much noise as in japan. anyway all insects are bigger here. me too i don t enjoy the summer in the same way than last year. i went to many fireworks but this year i prefer going to the beach and not in crowded places.

Melanie Gray Augustin said...

Hi Laurent

They are similar, but their sound is a little different I think. I looked at finding a nice quiet spot by the water for this summer, but it seems everyone has the same idea, so the beaches are so crowded.

Anonymous said...

sorry, when i am talking about calm places, i mean island in the morning...no one on the beach .
but the shonan is different of course.

Orchid64 said...

I think that there's nothing wrong with using the air conditioning when necessary. People who don't live in places where it never cools down can wag fingers and lecture all they want, but when the nights hover around 80 degrees (26.7 C) and the days around 90 degrees (32 C) and it can be humid, there is never an escape.

When your health is poor, it's especially hard to bear. Take care.

Melanie Gray Augustin said...

Yeh, and we're in the hottest and most humid area of Japan, so daytime is 36 degrees and very high humidity.

When the nights cool down, we turn it off, but if it's too hot to sleep, I'm chosing air conditioning over lost sleep.

owenandbenjamin said...

Enjoying a nice air conditioned place like a mall IS taking part in summertime activity. I love going to a cool place like the mall or movies during the summer. Not everyday of course.

Anonymous said...

wow! that cicada is really huge!

Melanie Gray Augustin said...

Hey Tornadoes - yep, there have been a number of shopping centre and movie trips this summer. Going to see the new Batman tonight!

Hey Renaye - yeh, he (she?) was a big one, it was cool to see a live one so close.

Anonymous said...

What a great post, I heard that they only live for 10 days? A few sadly came to the veranda and "went into the light".

I have no idea why my husband calls them crickets? LOL

It is hot here too 36-32, the evening is hot, I was hard to get used to all the humidity in Japan.

Mike said...

Hope you continue to stay cool - it has been pretty brutal lately!

Melanie Gray Augustin said...

Hey Girl Japan - only 10 days! Wow, that's short, no wonder they feel like they need to make a lot of noise in that time, that's a lot of living to fit in a very short time.

Hey Mike - yep, it's a nasty summer, though I'm hiding in air conditioning most of the time :)

Pecos Blue said...

Are they the 17 year kind?

Mary said...

hello!
Hmm. i don't know if i have seen it..hehhe..

Megane~kun said...

Hisashiburi Mel!

Not sure if you remember me, but I'm finally in Japan. Been here for 2 months now, but have only started to resume blogging a couple of days ago. Got busy and all that, so now I have a lot of catching up to do.

I arrived at the end of Spring, so when Summer finally came it was quite a surprise. Imagine going out everyday with a jacket on then the next morning everything is just blistering.

The past week has been very wet, so it has somehow cooled Tokyo down much. Though at the price of wet laundry...

What do you suggest for clothes? They're crowding my room and now they're just plain stinky. :(