}

Monday, February 29, 2016

Ordinary again

Sometimes, very ordinary things can help tell a bigger story. Other times, maybe most of the time, they’re just the ordinary things we don’t take much notice of. Today provided a bit of both.

Just over a month ago, I wrote about how our windows had condensation on the outside because of a storm system that made the outside air hot and humid. I did so to reiterate a point I was making that week, namely, that Auckland is hotter in summer than some people seem to think. I also used it as a reference point to talk about air conditioning and how that’s become more common in New Zealand in the years that I’ve lived here.

A lot of my posts begin with something like that—a photo or video—that I then use as a starting point for a discussion. Today’s photos aren’t that at all: They’re just my morning view.

Sure, they show that this summer is still hot and often humid; at about 9:30 this morning, it was 21.7 at our house (71F), which isn’t all that warm, but the humidity was 99%, which made it feel like 28 (82.4F)—at 9:30am. Our house at that time was still cool from the night, 19.3 (66.74), and so the condensation was bound to happen.

There was more than I’ve ever seen this morning, and on windows I haven’t seen it on. When mixed with the sometimes heavy rain out there, it made the house particularly dark and gloomy for morning time. The condensation also lasted pretty much all morning, until the outside and inside temperatures alike rose and the window glass became warmer.

Still, I think that as long as it’s short-lived, the condensation on the windows is kind of nice—the water on the glass, the blurring of the view beyond. Maybe it’s just that it’s so different from normal.

What we had this morning wasn’t exactly ordinary (I can’t remember a summer where that’s happened twice; I’m not actually sure I can remember a summer where it’s happened at all), and yet there’s also nothing that exactly spectacular about it, either.

I’m sharing this because it caught my attention for awhile, and in a week in which I’m swamped with work and have little space in my head to plan deep and meaningful blog posts (which could happen—there’s a first time for everything…), this is about all I can manage. When I’ve been similarly busy with work at other times, I’ve posted photos of the furbabies, and I wouldn't rule out that or other photos happening this week, either.

The photos of the condensation today actually tell a bigger story, too: I may be too busy to think about and research in-depth topics for posts, but I’m not too busy to notice ordinary things as I go through my day. I count that as a win.

Besides, today is Leap Year Day—how ordinary can anything today really be?

The photo above is from the same window as January’s post, just closer to the glass. The bottom one is the view from my office window.

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