Things You Learn Moving Apartments During a Heatwave
You can’t outsmart the heat
I learned that the universe is large and cruel, and that I am soft and small. Or at least, I learned that the universe can be as cruel as it decides. There are no checks on its power.
I learned that there are some things you can’t power through. In bad conditions, a task that would take a dozen hours in normal weather can take you more than five days. If you push harder, you faint or die.
For important tasks, I always give myself much more time than I need. But I learned that planning, being careful, and giving yourself lots of slack can’t always protect you. The weather alone can rob you of a week.
I learned that the rules are made up (I kind of knew this already, but it was a nice reminder). If it’s hot during the day, you can just move your furniture at night.
But I also learned that in Massachusetts, it can be 88 °F at 10:00 PM, hours after the sun has gone down. I really didn’t know that was possible. In Sri Lanka maybe, but not around here.
I learned that I need other people, that only the help of those around me can keep me safe and only their kindness can keep me alive. I learned that it’s not enough to be smart or careful or strong or to have the grit needed to power through, I cannot make it on my own.1
I learned that intense heat can really addle your thinking. The experience has been like being on two shots of vodka all day, only much worse. I still feel like I can’t think straight.
I learned that I am emotionally attached to my furniture and other belongings. But I also learned that I am happier sleeping on a fold-out futon in an empty room, with my laptop on a square college-style ottoman, than in a room full of all my books and my things, with a real bed and a good desk.
I learned that it can get so hot that not only does standing directly in front of a box fan not make you feel any cooler, standing in front of an A/C unit doesn’t make you feel any cooler either.
I learned that I am more sentimental than I realized, that there are many things I have a hard time giving up. There’s often no reason to rush a decision, and delaying is often a good tactic, but I learned that I still have a lot to learn about the balance between delaying a decision until you have to decide, and being decisive up front.
I learned that I have a lot of houseplants, and I learned that I am the guy who makes the living room feel like a Victorian parlor when I move in. I didn’t know I was that guy, but moving makes some things impossible to miss. Moving offers you contrasts. I learned that moving can teach you who you are.
It reminds me of an email Steve Jobs sent himself about a year before he died, where he wrote: “I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am totally dependent on them for my life and well being.“