As I am sure most of you heard on the news, New York had a bit of a heat wave last week. You know, I think it is funny that weather makes the news...and more than just the daily forecast. I always look to the news to find out about things that I don't already know. I can pretty much go outside and tell that it is sweltering. Of course the news does tell us how to deal with the heat, which I guess is important. Actually, last week's heat crisis turned scorching temperatures into a near state of emergency.
As I've mentioned in a previous entry, the old buildings we live in are not equipped with central air. (I invite you to read back to my entry on installing air conditioners...it is quite funny.) But since these units are not always cheap, not everyone has one. For example I don't. My apartment has one in the living room, and my two roommates have them in their bedrooms, but I am not quite ready to shell out a hundred or so bucks for one. I have a small fan that I got for free, and at the beginning of summer I thought that was plenty. I figured that it couldn't get hotter or muggier than Ecuador, so I can handle the heat. I am pretty much the most retarded person on the planet. It is hot, and I should go out and get an a/c, but now I tell myself that it is pretty pointless to get one with one month left of summer. Although they will go on sale soon, and maybe I'll get one then.

I am not the only one in this city without an a/c precariously perched on my windowsill. I imagine there are many low-income families in the 'hood that are relying on fans and popsicles to stay cool. (Popsicles are still one step up from me, however. Due to the sugar content, I'm trying to do without.) So when the 100+ days came, and the popsicle/fan combo failed, the residents did the only thing they could do--they bust open the fire hydrants. This is an illegal activity, as they tell us on the news, but it happens on every street. While walking home, I do enjoy the light spray of the hydrant; it is refreshing. I have yet, however, to stand in front of the hydrant. Those things are pretty powerful, and like I said, it is against the law. But when I see the hydrants I often think about running through the sprinklers, which was a favorite childhood activity. I guess fire hydrants are the inner-city sprinkler system.

Fortunately during the day, I am in an air-conditioned office. In fact there are days when it is so cold that I have to turn on the space heater. This week, we were not allowed to keep our a/c as cold, however. You may recall a few years ago when several cities back east blacked out. This is a common occurrence in the summertime because a/c units tend to use up a lot of power. (My roommates told me that energy bills are much higher in the summer than in the winter--that's something that may come as a shock to Seattleites.) In order to conserve energy, ConEd asks everyone to dim lights, lower the a/c temperatures, and turn off any unnecessary electrical appliance. Apparently elevators are one of those unnecessary appliances. I disagree. I work on the 16th floor. As much as I like the stairs, I do not like 16 flights of stairs. That's why I took the freight elevator when our main lifts were grounded on Thursday. The freight elevators have to work for deliveries and the handicapped, or people with stilettos. (Although one girl in my office climbed the 16 floors in 4 inch heels.) That Thursday was a fun day. We had to work with our lights off, and everything seemed really laid back and casual. We ordered in lunch under the excuse that due to the elevators we couldn't leave. I had a really tasty BLT. But the next day, I dressed ready to climb up the stairs, but the elevators were turned on. I'm not sad about that, by the way.

Another fun part of summer are roofop parties. Having a good roof is quite the commodity. Since our apartments are so small, it is hard to have a large party. So resourceful New Yorkers looked to the roof for their smashing parties. In fact there are a few bars/clubs on roofs. I haven't been to any, I've just heard. There are two great reasons to go to a rooftop party: 1. the view. Last week I went to a roof with a great view of the George Washington Bridge. Reason #2. the cool breeze. Add some chips, and you've got a party. The only dilemmas with these parties is electric power. There aren't any outlets up there. So to have lights, music, and the occasional bubble machine, party hosts usually dangle extension cords into their window and plug in that way. This is ideal for those that live on the top floor, but it is very comical when the host lives on the bottom floor. Luckily we aren't dealing with a high rise building. I think those have outlets--they are more modern. They even have central air. No, the party in question had maybe five or six floors, but still the thankfully long cord was lowered all the way to the bottom, with a girl hanging out her window yelling "A little more to the right" at 10:00 p.m.

You are probably wondering when I am going to throw my rooftop party. Well, our roof isn't very accessible. Most good roofs have a stairway leading up to it. We have a ladder. Somehow I don't see myself carrying two litre bottles while climbing up a ladder.