Air Conditioning, A Love Story

Let's talk about heat.

And air conditioning.

Air conditioning is, in my humble opinion, the greatest invention in the last 50 years.

It changes worlds!

My first experience with horrible heat was when I went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Dallas, Texas.

We had to wear dresses and no pony tails, in order to maintain an adult/business look.

But sweat would remove any and all make-up within 30 seconds of being in the heat. And since we were preaching the gospel on bicycles, wearing make-up was ridiculous. Rather than wear ponytails, we would braid our hair or pull it up in a bun. But buns didn't fit under the bike helmets. So usually, we went for the pippy longstocking look. I looked about 12 on most days.

Phoenix wouldn't be such a large city if there was no air conditioning. I don't have any stories about this. I just thought I'd point this out for anyone who is fond of Phoenix.

When I moved to Washington, DC--the concrete held the humidity and heat. Within a couple of weeks, I cut my hair into a super short pixie cut.

On Monday, the air conditioning went out at work.
On Tuesday, I went to work on Stop Pepper Palmer. We were shooting outdoors.
On Wednesday, the air conditioning at work was still on the fritz. It was a good 87 degrees all day.
On Thursday, we shot scenes inside this house, with no air conditioning. I got to get all lovey dovey with a handsome guy. But despite feeling a genuine fondness for the actor, cuddling isn't ideal in 100 degree heat.
On Friday, we shot scenes where I played a judge in a black suit. No air conditioning.

Apparently, if you put hair spray on your face, it stops the sweating. I was still sweating bullets though. My body just sweats a lot. I thought about all the actors who get botox--and I realized--the real reason for botox is to stop the forehead sprinklers!

After 5 days of living without air conditioning for the general bulk of the day, I am grateful for the cool breeze of central air.

If you look at our faces, you'd never guess that it was 103 degrees with hot lights from the film shining on us. Kudos to make-up artist Elise Hanson for standing by with powder, tissue, and hairspray. Also, I had a bottle of cold water down my back.

Today, I am grateful for air conditioning, the people who invented air conditioning, the people who fix air conditioning, and the people who turn on the air conditioning while I'm there.