there is something globally concerning with the heat right now. the one english channel i get is BBC, and if you’re going to get anything, BBC is the one you want. BBC tells it like it is. so i gather from the news, and phone calls home that there is a heat wave of sorts happening in the US. and europe and everywhere else. it seems every year lately it gets hotter and hotter and more and more people succumb to the heat. there is no way i can possibly convey just how hot it was here today. heat is one thing. humid heat is another animal altogether. from the moment i woke up i knew something was different. it seemed almost foggy outside. but it was not fog. it was brutal, overpowering, violent, visible heat. i’ve learned in my travels a few tricks on how to cool myself, acclimatize, and deal. today threw a brand new wrench into my bag of knowledge. i knew it was bad when i saw even the locals lying prone in whatever shade was available. air conditioners stopped working, the massive draw on power too much for whatever system they depend on. everyone complaining of the heat. “too hot” they are saying. “i don’t feel well”, or just simply eyes that convey exhaustion from the heat. it is a painful heat, worldwide. i fear what the coming years may bring.

 

on a more positive note, i found a wireless network today. it happened quite unexpectedly. i had nearly given up on ever being able to publish this journal, check email, or anything of the sort. after classes, (and another shower, nap and change of clothes,) i took the local train into the ‘western’ area of zhuhai. the part of town where western style hotels, bars, restaurants, etc., which cater to foreign travelers and businessmen, are located. i tend to avoid these areas when i travel. i mean, if i wanted to talk to any old annoying, pink skinned, obscene, obnoxious american/australian/german/what have you, rambling on with their undeserved sense of entitlement, i could stay home and do it with far less effort. but i needed fruit. fresh fruit. an anomaly here in china. it does exist, but it’s a luxury. and it’s a luxury not found on university campuses. so i went off in search of fresh fruit in the only area of town i knew i could find it. my booty: 2 fuji apples, 2 peaches, 2 plums, 1 bunch bananas, i bunch purple grapes. cost: 11 chinese yuan. or rather, $1.36. upon exiting the market, my little eye happened to catch a familiar green and white, mermaid shaped logo. now, as much as i detest the way starbucks has whored out the developing world, there are times when an iced americano, with a splash of 2% milk and 1 raw sugar is the only thing that’s going to carry me through the day. fortunately, it was not a starbucks, just another knockoff. and by the way, knockoffs are just as good. i think i may have squealed, or ran, or time-warped, or something, i am not really sure. but i found myself at the counter of the knockoff starbucks, panting and moist, with no recollection of the journey to my current locale. but that’s beside the point. i had an iced americano, with a splash of 2% milk, (actually, it was whole milk

(i think) that i diluted with water), and 1 raw sugar (called ‘rock candy’ here, due to it’s irregular, tic-tac sized pieces, i’m guessing). and as i was sucking the last drops of this liquid heaven from the far reaches of the bottom of my plastic cup, i saw a twinkly box tucked away under the menus near the hostess stand. could it be? may it be? i think it might me... a router. (for those not inclined to geeky computer verbiage, a router, simply put, makes the internet available to computers “in the know.” another slack-jawed moment. not from awe, but from... i don’t know the word for it. turns out, it is, indeed a wireless router, which i am free to use any time (with purchase of a beverage, of course.)

 

ladies and gentlemen, at long last, i’m finally going to be able to publish these very intriguing memoirs of mine. tomorrow. tonight, i only have strength enough to shower and change (i do this maybe 4 times a day. we all do. it’s wicked hot.)

 

we are floating in space. no doubt. but can we turn the A/C up a bit??