It was damn hot today — officially 95°F but I think more like 97°F in my building. Made worse by there being no appreciable air movement, which is almost always the case downtown when the mercury climbs past 90°F. Even now, at 11:30 PM I'm not feeling any of the usual nighttime air movement. I'm going to be up until 3:00 AM, most likely, because unlike any self-respecting Spaniard I can't seem to siesta in the heat. Not only that, but on an alcohol-fueled whim I sold my fan last night. I've suffered through four summers here without air conditioning, and I've had enough; I'm determined to install one before next summer. The thermometer on the wall next to my computer reads 79°F; these old buildings aren't insulated at all, really, and when you have over twenty people living on a floor you almost have to be a reptile to live comfortably here for three to four months out of the year; in the four years I've lived here I can count on one hand the number of times I've had my window shut all the way or my ceiling fan turned off, and not once — even during winter — have I ever turned on the radiator.
If the meteorologists are to be believed, it's all going downhill from here temperature-wise, and indeed I sincerely hope that fall is on its way. I can't help but wonder what local effects global warming will have on future falls. Summers are sure to be warmer and drier — indeed already are — and winters warmer but still soggy; it's the transitional seasons of spring and fall I wonder about. Will we see a gradual change from a four-season climate to one more resembling a two-season one demarcated chiefly by rainfall; a dry season and a wet season, with spring and fall differentiated only by growth cycles of plants? Like Sonoma County north of the Bay Area in California? We'll see. At least global warming has taken some of the banality out of an otherwise sorry excuse for a conversation topic! Heh, well, anyway, it was hot today, even though it was nothing like how it gets in Vietnam (referring to the inspiration for the title of this post). I'm looking forward to the drizzly deluge of fall and winter ahead.
