The Perfect Foam

Hot or Cold?

I have often pondered this age-old question (it seem like it should qualify as “age-old”, don’t you think?). It’s a classic “the grass is always greener on the other side” situation.

When I am outside with the air dripping with humidity and the sun beating down on me like a jack-hammer (think D.C. in August), I always long to be cold, able to least put on more clothing. When you are too hot, there is only so much to take off, and even being in only a bathing suit doesn’t seem to help.

On the other hand, when I am outside and I can’t feel my fingers or toes and it hurts just to breathe because the the air is knifing into my lungs, I always long to be hot. I actually think that the main difference between being hot and being cold is that being too hot is uncomfortable, while being too cold is painful. I’m still not sure which one is worse though, because feeling as uncomfortable as the heat can make you feel isn’t any fun at all. And feeling the level of pain that extreme cold can bring downright sucks. Even if you can put on another jacket or another pair of gloves, it just doesn’t really seem to make any difference at all.

I have been asking myself which I prefer all the more since I moved to a city where the weather can’t quite make up its mind. There is almost nothing that I hate more than carrying or wearing layers of clothing. As a New Englander I am certainly used to a little of this as the weather can change fairly suddenly. But definitely not like here in San Francisco. It seems like I always need some type of jacket or pullover with me when I am outside. On one street it can be warm, and then on the next pretty cool.

Just picture George Costanza walking the streets of San Francisco having to put on his jacket one minute and then take it off the next That’s pretty much what I go through every day! And my level of frustration and anger is probably pretty close to what his would be (come to think of it, maybe George and I are more similar than I realized).

I don’t have the answer to the question of which is better, hot or cold.  It’s a tough choice to make because as soon as you have one, you inevitably want the other.  What are your thoughts?!