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.
哈哈， 讀完了， both Chinese and English version. 八月初去了趟NM， 我能想象100度以上的天氣是啥樣了。 我們在NM租的房子裏， 我發現水龍頭無論往哪邊擰都是熱水出來， 問我在那裏生活的朋友，是否水龍頭壞了。 她說，是因為室外太熱，水管子裏的涼水都是熱的。 外麵院子裏的有些蟲子竟然被太陽曬死了。
你們那裏還好，晚上會涼下來。 你家那位能夠pinpoint to 電容，真是厲害。 我們都不知道電容這個詞：） 估計現在都修好了吧？（另，熱天的時候，肯定樓下比樓上涼快。 他還在樓上辦公，那溫度至少比樓下高5-10度。）
回複 '暖冬cool夏' 的評論 : Thanks again. Much appreciated!
暖冬cool夏 發表評論於
回複 '7grizzly' 的評論 : Sure, my friend! If it is same issue, we would be glad to help.
Btw, your home is new, and you should be worry free for at least 10 years. Good luck!
Below is the link for the replaced part of a broken garage door we once ordered. But of course,each home may have different models. But the concept should be same. For my own future reference too.
回複 '暖冬cool夏' 的評論 : Thank you very much! I will remember who to turn to when my ac or garage door breaks!
暖冬cool夏 發表評論於
回複 '7grizzly' 的評論 : Sure, my friend! Below is the link for a capacitor. Our exact model is only around $12 on Amazon. I will add a picture of air-conditioner later after the post is taken off the frontpage of WXC. I cannot edit now.
FYI,he recently fixed the garage door, replaced a part for less than $10. The technician quoted $120. A neighbor a few months later had the same issue,and he helped fix it for free. Learning to be a handyman is fun and economical.:)
回複 '混跡花草中的灰蘑菇' 的評論 : 輝蘑菇好！是啊，前所未有的熱，以前也有到過100F，但是不像這次時間這麽長，濕度也相對大。以前我帶女兒回國也盡量避開夏天，除了上海的世博會，那個夏天還去了北京，太受不了了：）所以就安心地享受這麽涼爽的英國氣候吧。
我們這邊常常萬裏無雲的，難得看見滿天雲朵，特別喜歡。想想這麽好的雲朵這麽碰上這麽惡劣的天氣：）雲多還是因為有濕度。謝謝輝蘑菇留言，enjoy your stay in London!
野性de思維 發表評論於
哈哈，俺被你寫的“抗高溫秘訣”逗樂啦，真夠風趣的！你家的這個溫度計很別致呀，漂亮！
另外，特佩服你用中英文寫作。俺曾經嚐試過用英文寫作，但基本上都是虎頭蛇尾，New Year Resolution。
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.
