Life has been both busy and routine
of late. The heat is steadily increasing outside, and the need
for air circulation (fans) or air conditioners is also steadily
increasing. The contrast between an air conditioned building or
room and the great outdoors is amazing. It must be tough on our
bodies to make the almost instant transition from 18 or 20 degrees
indoor to 38 to 40 degrees outdoor. A fellow Canadian and I were
chatting today about the similarities between the extreme heat
that we are experiencing now, and the extreme cold that Edmonton
sometimes had to offer in the winter. Although the clothes are
different, the attitude and preparation is similar for both. By
wearing the most appropriate clothes that you have, and minimizing
your time spent outdoors, -40 can be dealt with as easily as +40.
Personally, I still prefer -40. As cold as it gets, you can always
do something to add heat ... after a certain point, you can't do
anything to remove heat ... there are only so many clothes to take
off!
The scariest part of this whole scenario is that EVERYBODY has
told me that it will get worse ... much worse. The hottest that
I've seen it so far was 38 degrees, or about 105 F. By far the hottest
I've ever felt in my life. We have another four months until we
reach the hottest month of the year. I am in trouble! I'm doing
my best to stay hydrated, and have been going through 2-3 L of water
per day. On days like today, I'm covered in sweat before I even
leave my apartment. Throw in a 15 minute walk to the subway and
I'm very, well, lubricated I guess you could say. I guess this will
just be part of the challenge of living here. It certainly won't
kill me, and it will probably make those -40 winters feel all that
much colder when they once again become a fact of life for me. Just
thought I might as well complain about something.
Something else that is kind of newsy from me is the fact that I've
decided on my 'vacation' destination. I'm going to Singapore. I
don't really know much about it - what I have heard and read is
pretty interesting. Seems like a very successful city/country in
many ways. They are strict with many of their laws - some of these
seem senseless, but their overall approach seems to be working.
It is said to be one of the cleanest and safest places in Asia,
and the world. However, if you are caught chewing or importing gum,
you are in big trouble. I've also read that jay-walking is closely
monitored, and $50 fines are frequent.
One of the more unusual innovations is the presence of urine detectors
in elevators - not sure that I want to know the background behind
this one, but apparently they have been an effective deterrent.
It appears that English is one of the official languages too, so
I shouldn't have too difficult of a time making my way around. Something
that I didn't know before is that it is situated at 1 degree north
of the Equator. That will be pretty interesting - from what I understand,
the weather won't be any hotter than Taipei (maybe even a bit cooler),
but it will be nice to be that close to the equator. No real reason,
just one of those 'landmark' things that you do in life I guess.
On a more personal note, my physical activity levels have been
keeping me happy of late. My newfound commitment to the gym has
been helping me discover muscles that never before existed on my
'bag of bones' body. Spending more and more time each day looking
in the mirror it seems! Don't worry, I'm still the smallest guy
in the gym so I ego is being kept in check. The weather has seriously
hindered most other attempts for physical activity though - going
to make an effort to get in some beach volleyball this weekend.
I'm taking part in an excursion to Chi Shan beach, which is apparently
right on the ocean. To my surprise, the beach is said to be clean,
and the water swimmable. This could represent my first salt water
swimming experience. Surely there will be more information to come
if the trip does indeed happen.
That's all for this time. |
