在破紀錄的最高溫日子裏，空調壞了！( w English)

秋老虎以前所未有的熱情想留住夏的熱烈，其架勢蓋過盛夏，創造了史上最高溫~~連續幾天100F多度高溫（周五據說最高溫高達110F）。

周五在家上班。抬頭就見窗外的絲瓜藤葉奄奄一息地耷拉在熱浪中。正在我慶幸自己可以躲在空調房裏時，意外地發現自家的空調好像不製冷。頂著大太陽跑出去一看，果然空調機器沒有在轉。空調早不壞晚不壞，在曆史最高溫的日子壞掉了！

病急亂投醫。隨即打了幾個電話想找人來修，一個不回複，一個說要等下星期才有時間。朋友也說，很難找到馬上來修的。加上買配件也要時間。想想也是，這樣的高溫，不是空調壞了的概率高了，就是維修的人也不願意出門賺錢了。加上我月初上班忙，他下午了還有電話會議，兩人靠著風扇，就顧不上再打電話找人。

想想江南的夏天，小時候連電扇都沒有；想想讀書時南京的夏天，再想想工作時廣州的夏天，還有去北京旅遊時北京的夏天。。。常常想，自己和他都是苦出身，過過苦日子，現在條件好了，尤其是這些年被南加的好氣候寵著，幾乎忘記了夏日炎炎、四十度高溫是什麽滋味了。

晚上照樣做了飯，喊某人下來吃。

他光著膀子，脖子上掛著一塊毛巾。

我：“怎麽樣，樓上熱吧。” 停了停，我又接著說，“流流汗也是好的，體內溫度高有助於殺死癌細胞。你有沒有覺得流了汗，挺舒服。” 我邊說邊自我安慰道。

他：“我一滴汗都沒流。”

我以為他在說真話，因為以前他說自己因常年在空調房待，身上的汗腺係統出問題，很難出汗排汗。疫情這幾年在家，這毛病好像不治自愈了。

不過我馬上意識到他在講反話。

他又道：“我要是再蒸一蒸。。。”

我的笑聲打斷了他。看著他的神情，我就知道他又要開講了。

笑罷，我接道，“再蒸一蒸會怎樣？”

“變成悟空了。”看著我疑惑的眼神，他解釋道，“練丹爐裏的悟空。” “你看我這個悟空，煉丹爐裏抗高溫，還上班賺著錢，沒有高溫補貼的喔。”

他打開了話匣子，“我要傳授抗高溫秘訣。傳男不傳女。”

看著他赤膊上陣，明白幾分。

“這第一條，能不穿就不穿。第二條，廣東話裏的“衝涼”，即不停地衝澡來降溫，第三，關鍵情緒上也要cool down。

“再不濟，我們有浴缸，泡澡時裏麵還可以加冰塊。” 他真真假假地說著。

上了一天班，吃完飯，彼此都累了，也不想再找人，也不想自己去看個究竟。加州的夜晚再熱最後也涼了下來。我拿出放在車庫多年沒用的那種卡在窗戶上能抽涼風進來的風扇，加上屋頂的吊扇，迷迷糊糊地度過沒有空調的第一晚。

第二天周六，某人準備自己修了。打開外麵空調機上的一塊鐵板，發現裏麵應該是電容壞了。我跑去Home Depot找相應的電容, 發現沒有貨，附近的店家都沒有同樣型號的貨。隻有網上購買。又逢是周末周日，等貨到，周末也過了。看來還要戰天鬥地幾天。

周六晚上六點有廣場舞鍛煉。如果說平時我還會猶豫片刻，那天的我沒有理由猶豫，沒有理由不去。人家是走出空調房去鍛煉，我則是逃離“練丹爐”。事實證明，出去是對的，至少那夜有舞友相伴，有暖風相送。待血紅的夕陽散去，天邊升起一彎如鉤的新月。

再次體會到了為什麽生活在熱帶地方的人比較懶惰。周末，除去必要的家務、買菜、去圖書館還書，和兩次廣場舞，下午悶熱的時光則是躺在一樓沙發上追劇中度過，懶散地不想動彈。不過，周日晚飯後還是額外地發了麵做饅頭。在這樣的氣溫下，麵兩三個小時就發好了。待兩屜饅頭搓揉成型放進蒸籠，內衣裏一身汗。

我終於在冬暖夏涼之地，體會了一次酷夏（而非“cool夏“：）的味道，重溫了記憶裏的那股燥熱，那種汗流浹背的酣暢。

9/9日周一去公司上班避暑，見到了又一輪新來的CFO。 5：40下班路上，見那一半天空黑霧迷漫--又有山火在山的另一邊肆虐。。。

周五9/06 早上8：04的天空，難得一見的滿天雲朵：





周五下午拿出家裏的溫度計，放置太陽下，很快溫度計上顯示（119F）。放置遮陰處，大概是101F。



9/9 下班後6點左右看到的天空。山火在山的另一頭：



In the unprecedented record-breaking heatwave days in September, our AC was unbelievably down. It happened last Friday afternoon when we both worked from home.  What timing!

The first thing I did was turn the air-conditioner off and on, the way we handle computer crashes, in the hope that a restart will auto-correct the problem.

No expected luck.

Sitting downstairs at a desk in front of a closed window with tightly drawn curtains, I still felt the strong blistering heat permeating the glass.

After a few futile hectic calls for technicians, my anxiety grew with the temperature.  “What’s next?” I asked myself. “Didn’t I go through much worse summers in China? Didn’t I survive my childhood dog days without even an electric fan? How could I no longer put up with the weather that I was so used to?”

He came downstairs for the dinner, half-naked with a wet tower hung from his neck.

“How is it upstairs?” I asked, knowingly aware that the temperature there was normally a few degrees higher, especially after the unsheltered roof and walls being exposed to a full day’s scorching sunbake.

“I am like a Wukong roasted in an alchemy furnace.” He teased himself, “But I am still earning bread inside.”

The next two days turned out to be more intolerable, as the heat wave reared its ugly head without any sign of retreat. In the early Saturday morning before the heat wave raged on, he squated down beside the machine and took off its cover, peering into a box that contained colored wires. An initial diagnosis of the broken capacitor was followed by a disappointment of its unavailability at Home Depot or any nearby store. An online order was placed in the end, and the quickest delivery was early next week.

Life goes on, whatsoever. With humidity hovering around 56% and temperature dropping to 80s, we were able to sleep with the help of non-stop whirring fans - - a bionaire window fan from the side and a hanging fan from the ceiling.

Saturday’s night dance was scheduled as usual,  absent the teacher was on her vacation to Europe. Eight of us showed up. While they were cheered for being brave to step out of air-conditioned rooms, I embraced a night getaway from the heated dome. In the open air, I whiled away my otherwise sweltering night, in the company of friends, the music, the crescent moon, and later night winds.

The heat would last at least five consecutive days.

On my way home after work on Monday, I saw plumes of smokes heavily darkening half the sky. It was wildfire again, rampaging through the land we humans don’t cherish.