Occasionally we all melt under pressure. I might be doing so literally and figuratively right now with the discovery of a busted central air conditioning system (and corresponding water leak in my basement) smack in the middle of our first mini-heat wave. (I say mini heat wave because come August, days in the high 80s-low 90s will be cherished.) But sitting here sweating it out at my computer, the epitome of a hot mess, trying to calm myself as I drink an iced vanilla latte, I got to thinking that beyond purses, scarves, shoes and sexy lingerie, the best accessory a person can carry around with them is their poise.
It isn’t always easy to remain calm, cool and collected, especially if you are a Sagittarius like I am. We react passionately first, ask for forgiveness minutes later. I’ve had an increased number of outbursts lately, much to my disappointment. More than I want an iconic handbag or the perfect summer sandal, I’d like to have a constant source of poise to get me through the tougher times. By poised, I do not mean detached; I wear my heart on my sleeve and hopefully you love me for it. Nor do I mean cold. Stoicism can help when we need to bite our tongues or not overreact to a situation, but it isn’t my natural inclination. Sometimes deep breaths work; sometimes they result in hyperventilating. Sometimes a glass of wine works; sometimes it takes a few glasses.
As with most things in life, finding balance seems to be the key. I am committed to channeling more poise into my manner of conducting myself and am seeking a role model to emulate. And incentive. Every self-improvement project deserves a good reward at the end.
I’m thinking a perfectly poise-worthy vintage (i.e. used) Chanel bag.
the chelsea chronicles 
Chelsea: our HVAC froze and leaked water over the weekend. It needed to be turned off for 24-36 hours to allow the ice build up to melt. Just turned it back on and it’s okay. I hope that this is the problem, and not that you need a new system.
Well that would be nice to have such a simple solution. It would be even nicer if the AC repair guy had come in the 10:00-1:00 window he promised. I turned it off last night when I discovered the water leaking all over my basement. Blah! Cats and I are hot and sticky!
low on freon caused the water to freeze then melt so it sounds like a similar problem to what you had… the house is already down to a less-balmy 82 degrees.
I guess my whinging about the overuse of air conditioning (already!) in my office will be met with, at best, an eye roll.
I love you so 🙂 You are always welcome to come over here and share my melt-down… I mean air-conditioning…