Hot. Chaud. Caliente. Whatever you call it, it sucks. I cannot stand being hot and this past week in France, I've been doing way too much sweating. It was sunny and almost 30 degrees (Celcius) every day, and I would have appreciated summer's dramatic entrance had I been close to the beach, lying on a pool chair. Instead, I was hauling a heavy suitcase to work in Paris's public transportation system. Now let's imagine this for a moment...most trains/subways do not have air conditioning. And even if they do, most dumbasses open the windows anyway, so the cool air escapes. The passenger traffic has not slowed down that much yet, so I regularly find myself stuffed into a train shoulder-to-sweaty-shoulder with a million other people. There is no air circulation and the inside temperature is easily 10 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. And I won't even mention the smell. As someone who is paranoid about body odour, I take great lengths to slather on the best non-prescription anti-perspirant I can find. But here's the thing - there is a difference between
deodorant and
anti-perspirant. Deodorants just cover odour, they don't prevent you from sweating. Once you sweat off that lilac musk or spring rain, you're gonna stink like everyone else. Anti-perspirants actually prevent you from sweating (some better than others), but I've discovered that the vast majority of body odour products in French supermarkets are deodorants and not anti-perspirants. Hence the stereotype that French people (and perhaps Europeans?) often have B.O. I, for one, stock up on good old
Degree anti-perspirant every time I go to Canada. So far, I've found it works the best.
Did I just write an entire paragraph about deodorant?
And once I'm free from the bowels of hell (
aka the train), I'm either going to work (
looking like a hot mess) or coming home to an equally hot apartment. We don't have a balcony, and the large windows face south, so my little shoebox heats up really fast. The animals have no idea what's going on, and the cat has taken to sleeping stretched out on the cold kitchen floor. The dog is loyal to the sofa, but his little tongue is out and panting most of the time. They are listless and have no energy (which has its advantages), but I do feel bad for them.
So, all that to say, I hate hot weather and being hot. I'd be quite happy with 25 degrees all summer, and cool nights to be able to sleep better. Perhaps this week has been an exception and the hot weather will go away, only to be replaced by a shitty summer like last year, but seriously, my pores need a break.
(I looked for a picture to post on this entry of a cute dog that looked hot, so I typed "hot dog" into Google images and instead of a panting puppy, I got pages and pages of weiners.)
His and Her suction-cup bottom toothbrushes. His has a dolphin, mine has a koala. These may or may not be toothbrushes for children, but hey, I have a small mouth. 
Pinch showing off his Colgate smile!
Hot. Chaud. Caliente. Whatever you call it, it sucks. I cannot stand being hot and this past week in France, I've been doing way too much sweating. It was sunny and almost 30 degrees (Celcius) every day, and I would have appreciated summer's dramatic entrance had I been close to the beach, lying on a pool chair. Instead, I was hauling a heavy suitcase to work in Paris's public transportation system. Now let's imagine this for a moment...most trains/subways do not have air conditioning. And even if they do, most dumbasses open the windows anyway, so the cool air escapes. The passenger traffic has not slowed down that much yet, so I regularly find myself stuffed into a train shoulder-to-sweaty-shoulder with a million other people. There is no air circulation and the inside temperature is easily 10 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. And I won't even mention the smell. As someone who is paranoid about body odour, I take great lengths to slather on the best non-prescription anti-perspirant I can find. But here's the thing - there is a difference between deodorant and anti-perspirant. Deodorants just cover odour, they don't prevent you from sweating. Once you sweat off that lilac musk or spring rain, you're gonna stink like everyone else. Anti-perspirants actually prevent you from sweating (some better than others), but I've discovered that the vast majority of body odour products in French supermarkets are deodorants and not anti-perspirants. Hence the stereotype that French people (and perhaps Europeans?) often have B.O. I, for one, stock up on good old Degree anti-perspirant every time I go to Canada. So far, I've found it works the best.
(all photos courtesy of the awesome site http://www.cuteoverload.com/) 
