Well, the heat is back on. With humidity, today at 80% according to my neighbor. And while it is not going to stop me from whining about it (in an, I hope, mildly amusing fashion) I do have to point out that it isn’t as hot on my part of the West Side as some other parts of Los Angeles. It’s not the beach, but it’s not the Inland Empire either. Both my office and my apartment are air-conditioned: I am not facing a life as trying as my USPS delivery person, who has to lug boxes from an un-airconditioned truck (No, USPS trucks have no AC whether you are in Portland, Peoria, or Palm Desert) to an un-airconditioned lobby. I am well aware that I could be paving parking lots in Pacoima rather than sitting in an air-conditioned office typing away between sips of iced tea.
But I am going to whine anyway.
Last Sunday some chucklehead decided to exit the entrance of a private parking lot on my street without looking and plowed right into the side of my car. Now, I was totally unhurt and the car can be driven (if the door can’t be opened from the outside) so once again, blessings counted, but won’t stop the whine. The whine comes in with his insurance. Which I won’t name other than to write that they call themselves a company you can rely on. What you can rely on is serial incompetence and the runaround. I won’t bore you with the gory details other than to state that I hope they are having their customer, you know, the one who is 100% at fault here, jump through the hoops of fire they are having me jump through. And I ain’t near to done yet.
Honestly it’s sort of disabused me on the notion of having a really nice car. I could manage strained politeness towards the person who smacked up my 20 year old BMW, which had been previously smacked. If it was my brand new BMW, or worse the beautiful 1970’s SL I’ve lusted after since Richard Gere drove one in “American Gigolo” I’d have to stab him with the broken piece of my side marker lamp.
So I have been self medicating. Not with pills or booze or even food (much) but with creams and spritzes.
Now at night when I am going to bed with the AC set to 78 degrees I can reach for my favorite comforts: Lutens MKK, which is like the warm embrace of some fanciful feral being that is in a cuddly mood, because you are just all that. Or Guerlain Spiriteuse Double Vanille, which can be JUSTTOOMUCH during the day, but at night the doughy, boozy vanilla is like the waters of the river Lethe. Or Lostmarch Lann-Ael, written of at their site as the smell of “Proust Madeleine”(s) but to my mind conjure a postcoital bowl of froot-loops enjoyed in Idris Elba’s (you can insert yur crush here) arms. Who knew Kellogg’s could be so sexy?
During the day I have been reaching for that hot weather staple- Agua de Colonia Concentrada by Alvarez Goméz. I always give credit to alityke for turning me onto it, and I think I have told everyone I know about it. You can tell by the photo how much I enjoy it- and there’s a plus-sized back up bottle in my apartment.
New to the mix is the De la Cruz Rosewater Body Mist. I think I may have gotten it in an order from iHerb to get the free shipping and I like it enough that I think I will keep buying it. It’s very rosy, and while no-one will confuse it with anything from Worth it certainly falls under the heading “cheap and cheerful”, is somewhat moisturizing, certainly cooling, and leaves a nice “lean in and smell it” rose scent on skin. Nice on sheets to. And it’s $12 for 8 ounces on Amazon.
The two moisturizers, Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide and Retinol 24 Moisturizer I got on a facebook deal where I think both were $10. They’re both nice and non-greasy, but I can’t really say if they’re turning this gnarled old oak into a sapling and I am not going to test the effectiveness of the SPF 30 by going out in this heat without a hat.
Oh, and I bought a new hat. It has a brim wide enough to shade a small branch library. I used accrued bonus points to pay for the $22 it would have otherwise cost. It flaps a bit in the breeze and I likely look a little demented in it but F-’em if they can’t take a joke. If I could fit a small fan in the crown I would go for it.
So if you’re having it, how are you beating the heat? What are you comforting yourself with? Want to just whine a bit? Go for it in the comments.
All items were puchased by me. Photos are mine and pexels.
It’s different state by state – but could you go through your insurance company? (Which will in turn get reimbursed by theirs?) your insurance company unlike theirs has an incentive to keep you happy.
Glad you’re okay!
The way it works here is that he (at fault driver) pays up to the amount of his coverage, which is the minimum state requirement, which is $5k. I keep Comprehensive, which would cover anything over what his insurance would not pay, then I assume that my insurance would go after him personally for any overage. If I didn’t have Comprehensive I would have to sue him personally. I really don’t see $5k worth of damage, but what do I know?
Thanks for the good wishes- they honestly help!
We all need some good whining once in a while. It sucks about the car and insurance companies usually make things suck even more.
The heat advisories have finally gone, at least for a while. Now it’s in the high 70’s but very humid. That’s much more doable. It’s no fun wondering if hell is cooler than the weather you’re having.
I love hats. They’re fun. I could not wear your new hat though. That would lead to some good jokes about my height and size vs the hat.
And – the heat finally broke me down. I checked out Agua de Colonia and threw it in my Amazon cart.
That’s all, folks! 🙂
I hope the colonial works for you!
The hat is almost too big for me. It’s almost too big for my apartment building.
Supposedly it will. We will see.
It is just whining on my part- it doesn’t get THAT hot in this part of LA, and if it does it doesn’t stay that way. Certainly not like New England where I grew up with highs in the 90’s and humidity to match and nothing with AC except the malls. If I lived in the far valley or in Palm Springs I’d have something to whine about.
This was a response to Cinnamon, but of course I screwed it up somehow. I was diverted by the thought of pastry.
Insurance companies. Short arms & long pockets!
I’m doing the hoops of fire on repeat between the vet & insurers to claim for Jarvis’s recent operation.
Today it’s 70 & intermittently threatening rain here.
Mum back in hospital so no scent for me today.
Have you tried cheap Spanish EDCs in the laundry yet?
Good luck on your insurance woes and best to Jarvis’ recovery.
I haven’t tried it in the laundry yet but thanks for the reminder!
Get the huge bottle of the standard EdC don’t waste the Concentrada
Good tip!
I love a big hat, I have several! And I have a rose water spritz for my face/wherever, it’s very refreshing. It cooled off dramatically here yesterday with hours of rain which we desperately needed, I think everyone’s a bit giddy about it this morning. It’s a sparkling 71 out there at noon, which is lovely. I’m so sorry about your car! Trying to get anything from an insurance company seems like such a hassle. Good luck.
Thanks! They keep saying that we may get some rain from the tail end of something or another and it would be nice- we got so much earlier in the year it would be nice to spread it out.
I just filled up the pool to the fill line so maybe that will bring it on- This past year I had to pump it out three times to keep it from overflowing after big rainstorms.
it’s actually a bit COOL! here – 71F with an inclination to storm. I’ll take it (once I clean up the yard – nothing worse than soggy dog poop). I’m struggling with a bit of discomfort – remember the gatefence that fell on me 3 times? My shoulder does – and it’s reminding me with every move I make. So . I’m wearing JHaG Lust for Sun over Arquiste Vacation: a bit ironic considering I’m not lusting for either! I’m lusting for MORE WORK! so I can pay for My Cranky Contractor to do the next project.
Today is a little cooler but muggy. I’m sorry about the shoulder, but I bet you smell fabulous!
In the lower Great Lakes, we are enjoying seasonal temps in the low 80sF. It’s nice. I’m really sorry about your car and dealing with the insurance company! I hope I didn’t already post this but about a month ago I had a freak accident with my 18 yr old manual Jetta. I parked in front of my garage and for the first time ever, accidentally (I was distracted) left it in neutral. Moments later I hear my neighbor yell…my car rolled backwards, across the street, in between his two cars parked in his driveway, into his open garage and hitting the back of his new Ford Escape. ????Just a small dent on the Escape which my insurance paid for but really tore up the back end of my car and I didn’t have collision insurance. Body work is so $$, new fun stuff will have to wait a long time.
okay, Ms A: you know I am not laughing AT you – but I’m laughing like a lima bean at the visual of this whole thing. O.M.G.
I know, right? It was challenging trying to explain to the insurance company how two cars were rear-ended in the same collision with no drivers present!
Ooof- I’ll bet that was fun!
As an aside you know that manual transmissions are the new passive anti-theft devices, right? Nobod can drive them anymore. Valet parkers won’t take them and thieves pass them up.
It is kind of funny in a YouTube kind of way.
I am paranoid about e-brakes not working so I always pout the manual in reverse when parked.
Oh No!!! That sux! At least the other car wasn’t badly damaged and nothing else was.
I don’t have collision either (no sense on a 20 year old car driven under 3000 miles a year) but comprehensive will pay for whatever his insurance doesn’t supposedly. Sux that body work doesn’t get cheaper as the cars get older.
Your poor car, Tom! What a huge Pain to have to deal with all that nightmare. I don’t like paperwork, but I really dislike making phone calls and facing “please hold while I transfer you.” It’s still hot as can be here in Virginia with high humidity and thunderstorms. I wear linen and stay indoors with the AC. My rant: I have my 40th high school reunion this fall, but have I managed to lose any weight or get into better shape? No. I’m a failure who just ate a Danish for breakfast! 😀
Since my urge to attend a high school renunion is right up there with an IRS Audit or repeatedly hitting myself in the big toe with a ball-peen hammer I vote for the danish and the AC
Hahaha! You’re so funny! Thanks for your vote of confidence, friend!
Hey, my pleasure. I’m all for better and more accessible pastry..
Most will be larger than you, the year beauty? Meth habit & no teeth. The handsome school football & baseball star? Bald with a belly the size of Pluto (planet not dog). The ginger geek with jam jar specs may be as rich as Croesus but will still be a monosyllabic geek even with 4 ex-wives who all look like Melania Fart.
You will smell fabulous, look round & think, blimey! Why was I fretting!
Enjoy spending time with those who are still your friends! Monkey nuts to the rest!
Very true. But I’d still rather stay home and have pastry.
Hey alityke. I don’t remember seeing you at my last renunion. You should have at least said “hi”. LOL. 😉
I personally am going to adopt “Monkey Nuts” as a new phrase..
That was mine. Many looked like Jabba the Hutt. That was just the women
I’m wondering if that will be the case at my 50th.
OMG, Jabba the Hutt!!! My jaw dropped! That last reunion I mentioned had good ol’ Jabba there. My daughter can verify that I couldn’t stop mentioning my shock at someone who now looked like Jabba the Hutt. I even showed her on the reunion facebook page. She agreed!
And it was a a woman.
So true! I have many dear friends from high school still, and since I still live in our home town it’s easy peasy for me to attend. I enjoy seeing the friends, try to avoid the shallow women who are still shallow, and hope to see some folks who haven’t attended previous reunions. Our class was huge (about 700), and we’ve had a reunion every 10 years.
I’m glad you have happy memories of HS. I kinda didn’t like it so…
I’m with you on that. I hated every moment of being bullied & that was by a teacher.
The kids that bullied me? I didn’t wait for karma, just my patience went missing a time or two & I lashed out. Dance, horse riding & gymnastics leaves you very strong. Tough that a couple of girls got back what they gave x2. Only one needed to go to ER.
Oh if I didn’t adore you before I do now!
I just read “Carrie” and lived vicariously through her burning down the prom. Not that I went to the prom. Or graduation for that matter. I even refused to have my photo in the yearbook.
Thankfully in the 70’s these jolly American customs hadn’t reached our shores.
There was a “Leaver’s Disco” & I turned out in full on winklepickered punk. The Head Boy was neatly turned out in a suit I recall. He might have been the apple of the teacher’s eyes & a goody two shoes, but it was me he made a bee line for!
I was a bad influence apparently
That was a custom you could do without. Yearbook photos inevitably made you look deformed anyway.
They were basically a scam to force parents to buy expensive and terrible photos of thier little darlings. Mug Shots looked like portraits by Hurrell in comparison.
Would send you some of our cooler, wetter weather if I could. Will insurance company sort the car fix? I have a cheap as chips bottle of Agrumi di Sicilia bitter orange spray for hot weather. Very little air con here. Very hot weather can be really difficult.
My response came out at the top of the comments because apparently I am an idiot.