Meltdown

Last Wednesday evening, while Paul was teaching his Aikido class, I opened the algebra book and began reading the definition of a function. It was hot in the room (82 degrees) and a little humid, but I hadn't minded it all day and was enjoying being cheap and saving on air conditioning costs. Now this was pretty abstract stuff and I had to read the paragraph over again. It made even less sense the second time. Oh no, I thought; it seemed I had slammed my intellect against the brick wall of its limitations. (And I had been doing so well until now, too!)

I started breaking a sweat as the words ran together on the page. It was suddenly unbearably hot in there. Then and there I gave up on economizing, slamming the windows shut and moving the AC from "off" to "cool." I couldn't believe how hot I was; I felt a little dizzy, almost feverish, and totally unable to string together a coherent thought. I was actually mopping my face with a hand towel. My entire body was soon soaked, as if I had just finished an intense workout. It lasted about 30 minutes.

I think I had just experienced my first hot flash! I guess no matter what your age, the study of mathematics and hormonal insanity are inextricably linked.