if you can't beat it ...

... resist, and resist mightily. the heat, that is.

entering the third day of this sweltering heatwave on the East Coast, i barely made it through the night again. not being able to afford an A/C in my Brooklyn hovel, for financial and practical reasons, i really have to make do with my electric fan on max all night.

what else to do to cool off? although this is the hottest its been in the city in years, i've learned a few things here and there, so i have a routine down pat. drink, drink, and drink. cold water has never been better. waking up at 2 AM to take a cold shower is not unusual anymore. i also put a little pail of water beside the bed with a soft towel, to dab myself at night when i get too wasted and sleepy to stagger over to the bathroom. in the mornings, i make sure everything i need to bring to work is ready before taking a shower, so when i get out i waste little time in getting dressed and picking up my backpack. when i leave my building, my body's still a bit drenched.

the subway is a bit of a pickle. you have to have great timing sometimes, because trains may not always be waiting in the station. like today, the train was just leaving when i got to my station, so i had to wait a few more minutes for the next one to arrive. subway stations are not airconditioned - shame on you, money-grubbing maniacs of the MTA - so they mimic the conditions outside. i always feel like a pizza in an oven during the worst of the hot months. you can feel the sweat running down your back, brow and neck in buckets, and you just wish the next train was there right NOW! the MTA even springs a joke on you when the first subway car you rush into has no airconditioning, and the doors close before you can switch to another car. nooooooooooo!

i guess am still lucky because i only have to wake up early (or thereabouts) and just make it to the office as soon as i can (i bring lunch so i don't have to go out there - wait, where the hell is my lunch today?! damn!). 164 people died in California, and the West Coasters always boast about the nice weather over there (no shoveling of snow from the sidewalks during the bitter winter season). CNN reports that a Boston zoo feeds the lions frozen blood, and thats kinda like humans having italian ices (kidding). and who can forget the recent Queens blackout, of which to this day they're still getting outages. the other night, i thought my neighborhood would have one too, because the lights suddenly started dimming and the fan seemed to slow down. that's the supply trying to keep up with the demand. just when i thought i left the blackouts behind ...

at least, this is supposedly the last day of this heatwave, and temperatures should cool down by tomorrow. by february, we'll be bitching about the freezing weather.

in other good news, the weather had no effect at all on FedEx, as they delivered my sibs' gifts today, just a couple of days after i ordered it online. wow. my sibs will be smiling soon enough. this should probably excuse me from posting a blog extolling my affection for them. nyhahahaha.