Gapers Block has ceased publication.

Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
 Thank you for your readership and contributions. 

TODAY

Friday, March 29

Gapers Block
Search

Gapers Block on Facebook Gapers Block on Flickr Gapers Block on Twitter The Gapers Block Tumblr


Fuel

Adam / July 7, 2003 10:32 AM

Air conditioning. 24 hours a day.

Marc / July 7, 2003 11:10 AM

Air conditioning. Also 24 hours a day.


Sweating profusely at the slightest suggestion of going outside.

Very little compares to the pleasure of stepping out of a train/bus/cab absolutely drenched in sweat. The more you think about it, the more you sweat.

miss ellen / July 7, 2003 11:11 AM

lots of A/C. lots of ice-cold water while walking to/from train. and, short skirts - woohoo ;)

Andrew / July 7, 2003 11:14 AM

I'm not a huge fan of AC, so I try to wear loose clothing and keep the air circulating.

However, on a day when the heat index is supposed to be 100-105°, you can bet those window will be closed and the central air blowing.

brian / July 7, 2003 11:29 AM

I guess I just sweat. I haven't installed the air-conditioners yet; I'm too lazy.

Naz / July 7, 2003 11:53 AM

No air-conditioning. No fan really. I turn the fan on only for a few minutes a day. Luckily my workspace and the back of the apartment are in the shade. Surprisingly, this has worked, and I don't sweat indoors. I have therefore aclimatized to the heat and having lived in a tropical climate for nine years, this isn't all that hardcore.

Paul / July 7, 2003 12:03 PM

Air conditioning + lots of water = good emulation of fall during summer.

Alex / July 7, 2003 12:30 PM

I HATE HOT HOT HEAT! (Not the band, mind you -- they are fabulous.) And you want to know why I hate it so? It is because the only place I sweat -- ahem, perspire -- is my nose. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW ANNOYING THAT IS?

So, to cope I wear as little as possible, chew on ice all day and sleep in an air-conditioned bedroom. Also, I go to the movies as much as possible. They are heavenly chilled.

heather / July 7, 2003 12:33 PM

I am not a fan of the air conditioning - I'm very happy in 100-105 degree weather. I'm with miss ellen on how to cope - plenty of water and plenty of short skirts!

the best thing about the heat is the simple fact that sweating is damn sexy.

Naz / July 7, 2003 12:39 PM

Here's the weird thing. I think girls when sweating, are sexy indeed, so I'll agree with Heather there. However, at least on myself, sweating makes me feel pretty damn unsexy.

So a question for the ladies, is a sweaty guy sexy?

Phineas / July 7, 2003 12:42 PM

Central fucking air, people. It's the only way to get through this wretched season anything like a civilized fashion. Ample supplies of well-chilled domestic beer augmented by gin-based drinks also seem to help.

Wendy "Towel Girl" Mc. / July 7, 2003 12:46 PM

It all depends on what the sweaty guy's doing.

amyc / July 7, 2003 12:49 PM

I certainly don't feel sexy when I'm all sweaty (unless I've, y'know, done something sexy to get all sweaty). But usually when I'm all hot and sweaty, the very last thing I want to do is get next to another hot, sweaty person. I just want to take cool showers and stand in front of the AC drinking ice water.

That's sexy, right?

Alex / July 7, 2003 12:57 PM

Prickly heat powder. Ubiquitous and indispensable in the tropics. The St. Luke's version (available in a variety of Asian stores) even has menthol, so you not only feel cool and dry, but MENTHOLATED as well.

dce / July 7, 2003 1:24 PM

It's all about the fan. Lacking air conditioning, I've two small fans that allow for easy re-positioning. The key, however, is metal. Both fans are of sturdy, old fashioned, steel. A bit more expensive than the plastic Walgreen's variety, but worth every penny.

Shylo / July 7, 2003 1:32 PM

I love the heat, the humidity. What I don't love is the ubiquitous bitching it inspires. But then, I'll complain as soon as it drops below 60.

Craig / July 7, 2003 2:19 PM

One of the most disgusting activities for a hot summer day is going to the laundromat and folding clothes whilst sweating your brains out next to the dryers.

Kevin / July 7, 2003 2:28 PM

Keying Jettas' in Lincoln Park. But then doesn't everybody?

Dave / July 7, 2003 2:39 PM

I take the opportunity to practice new spanish phrases. Somebody might say:
¿Qué usted está haciendo?
and I would reply,
¡Cocinando huevos!

Naz "Hottie" H. / July 7, 2003 3:08 PM

Craig - ugh. Done that before. No fun.

Amy - yeah, unless something sexy is going down, one can forget about the sweatiness.

So all in all, heat and sweat next to something else hot and sweaty = bad unless it's SEX. Actually sweaty make-out sessions are alright too.

Wiz of Odds / July 7, 2003 4:29 PM


Goddamn heat. I hate humidity. Hate it! My apartments on the third floor, we get all of the building's heat. Our windows are east-west--we get all the sun! The streets are like radiators. We have no A/C--we can't have one, because our electrical system is so poor, it can't support A/C if anything else is running.

My wood floors are hot to the touch. Not warm. Hot. When is it going to end? Why can't we have 78 degree heat? I've lived in Chicago all my life...and have always preferred the winters. You can defend against the cold. Heat is a juggernaut.

This is the life we've chosen...

Chris Barrett / July 7, 2003 4:50 PM

Sweaty people smell like ass. How can that ever be sexy?

Kris / July 7, 2003 4:55 PM

My apartment: Sixth floor. Windows face east. No a/c. No air flow. Me, sweating to death.

I've lived through entire summers in the South with no air conditioning, and somehow this seems worse. I've been getting up in the middle of the night to take cold showers. I'm going to have to break down and buy a window unit.

Shylo / July 7, 2003 4:56 PM

Sweaty people make their own gravy.

Craig / July 7, 2003 5:29 PM

Naz said: "Actually sweaty make-out sessions are alright too."

Dry humping ain't so dry in the summer, though.

heh.

Alex, x, x / July 7, 2003 5:49 PM

I love with when our posts take a wrong turn somewhere and end up being either about sex, haterade or Mickey Rourke...

Gapers Block: When good posts go bad!

Naz "Hottie" H. / July 7, 2003 5:51 PM

Hey, you're the one bringing up fireworks in the bedroom and whatnot. Not bad actually.

Gapers Block: where everything is about sex.

Luke / July 7, 2003 8:51 PM

No A/C for me. If there's anything that gets me through winter, it's the anticipation of weather like this. In the middle of January, all I think about is sitting in my underwear and sweatin'. I won't taunt the monster that is winter by trying to be cool in summer.

Ruthie / July 7, 2003 10:05 PM

Swimming in Lake Michigan makes life cool and wonderful. In Hyde Park, locals gather at the Point near 55th street to swim and lay drippy on the limestone blocks that line the lake. It's the best part of summer (e. coli be damned).

sr / July 8, 2003 10:48 AM

i used to complain about being fair-skinned and easily affected by heat. "my people weren't built for this!" i'd say. last summer i gave myself an attitude adjustment and now i prefer lounging in the hammock out back to staying in the AC. i wear tank tops and short skirts and carry water at all times. as for my severe sensitivity to the sun, i just stick to the shade, and use lots of sunblock.

and i'll agree with y'all that sweaty - under the right circumstances - is sexy.

lacey / July 8, 2003 1:01 PM

Last summer was my first in Chicago (I'm from the south, land-o-central air), and other than a brief stint at a college in Kentucky, my first summer without a/c. I was miserable and hot all the time. But that's all I needed, this year I'm much less miserable and I have embraced the heat. Bring on the sweat, I say! I love the humidity and that hugged-by-the-air feeling I get when I walk outside. I also second the skirts thing though, and outdoor activity is also nice. Riding a bike is kind of like being in front of a fan. Right?

Naz "Hottie" H. / July 8, 2003 3:26 PM

I'm all for riding the bike, in fact I go faster to keep cooler, but once you stop, at a light or whatnot, it seems like the sweat that was being held back suddenly floods out of your pores. Oh sweet irony.

stephen / July 8, 2003 4:21 PM

I call 334-756-3336 and try to determine the entirety of the message, and chuckle through the rest of it while putting my face in a tub of ice like Huey Louis. Seriously tho, call that number before those guys get back. It's awesome.

Wendy / July 8, 2003 4:43 PM

Oh my God.

I am so glad I live in a world where people leave voice mail messages like that.

Andrew / July 8, 2003 5:17 PM

That's awesome. Hope he's having a good vacation down there at Dale's Den.

Kevin / July 8, 2003 7:17 PM

Should I be frightened because I feel compelled to point out to Stephen that he misspelled Huey Lewis' name?

The crap that floats around my noggin' sometimes...

Alex "80s Trivia Sponge" V. / July 9, 2003 8:10 AM

Er...yeah, I noticed that too -- but I was too ashamed to say so.

Naz "No connection made today" H. / July 9, 2003 9:42 AM

Jeez, and all this while I was thinking who the hell is Huey Louis? Not to mention the fact that I pondered this phone number that had appeared all of a sudden midst "conversation".

Craig / July 9, 2003 1:21 PM

Remember-- "Bidness is bidness", he ain't got no time to answer the phone!

Stephen / July 9, 2003 3:49 PM

I think that's the first time I've misspelled something and don't feel bad about it. "I don' know wha tha food come from, but we know what to do with it when it come."

stephen / July 10, 2003 12:25 PM

Suckers! For added fun and enjoyment, go to google and type:
weapons of mass destruction
and click I'm feeling lucky. ;)

Andrew / July 10, 2003 1:40 PM

Dude, *everyone* knows where the weapons of mass destruction are hidden. (They're in Naz's pants.)

Andrew / July 10, 2003 1:43 PM

Personally I'd like to see Bush and Cheney look into this WMD.

Naz "No connection made today" H. / July 10, 2003 1:58 PM

Shhhhhh! Be quiet! I know that Little Naz (though it's not really all that little) is a Weapon of Mass Destruction but you know, keep it on the DL...! This is all on a need-to-know basis!

Stephen / July 10, 2003 5:09 PM

Nice, looks like that movement is going to be this years "All your Base" phenom. I mean you can get "Detect Weapon" boxers. Serious.

J / July 26, 2003 4:38 PM

AC? What is AC? All I got is this lousy fan. . .

GB store

Recently on Fuel

Urban Ethos [26]
What is Chicago's "urban ethos"?

Cool Glass of... [16]
What're you drinking?

Supreme Decision [22]
What's your reaction to the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act?

Taking it to the Streets [20]
Chicago Street Fairs: Revolting or Awesome?

I Can Be Cruel [9]
Be real: what is the meanest thing you've ever done?

View the complete archive

GB Store

GB Buttons $1.50

GB T-Shirt $12

I ✶ Chi T-Shirts $15