在破纪录的最高温日子里，空调坏了！( w English)

秋老虎以前所未有的热情想留住夏的热烈，其架势盖过盛夏，创造了史上最高温~~连续几天100F多度高温（周五据说最高温高达110F）。

周五在家上班。抬头就见窗外的丝瓜藤叶奄奄一息地耷拉在热浪中。正在我庆幸自己可以躲在空调房里时，意外地发现自家的空调好像不制冷。顶着大太阳跑出去一看，果然空调机器没有在转。空调早不坏晚不坏，在历史最高温的日子坏掉了！

病急乱投医。随即打了几个电话想找人来修，一个不回复，一个说要等下星期才有时间。朋友也说，很难找到马上来修的。加上买配件也要时间。想想也是，这样的高温，不是空调坏了的概率高了，就是维修的人也不愿意出门赚钱了。加上我月初上班忙，他下午了还有电话会议，两人靠着风扇，就顾不上再打电话找人。

想想江南的夏天，小时候连电扇都没有；想想读书时南京的夏天，再想想工作时广州的夏天，还有去北京旅游时北京的夏天。。。常常想，自己和他都是苦出身，过过苦日子，现在条件好了，尤其是这些年被南加的好气候宠着，几乎忘记了夏日炎炎、四十度高温是什么滋味了。

晚上照样做了饭，喊某人下来吃。

他光着膀子，脖子上挂着一块毛巾。

我：“怎么样，楼上热吧。” 停了停，我又接着说，“流流汗也是好的，体内温度高有助于杀死癌细胞。你有没有觉得流了汗，挺舒服。” 我边说边自我安慰道。

他：“我一滴汗都没流。”

我以为他在说真话，因为以前他说自己因常年在空调房待，身上的汗腺系统出问题，很难出汗排汗。疫情这几年在家，这毛病好像不治自愈了。

不过我马上意识到他在讲反话。

他又道：“我要是再蒸一蒸。。。”

我的笑声打断了他。看着他的神情，我就知道他又要开讲了。

笑罢，我接道，“再蒸一蒸会怎样？”

“变成悟空了。”看着我疑惑的眼神，他解释道，“练丹炉里的悟空。” “你看我这个悟空，炼丹炉里抗高温，还上班赚着钱，没有高温补贴的喔。”

他打开了话匣子，“我要传授抗高温秘诀。传男不传女。”

看着他赤膊上阵，明白几分。

“这第一条，能不穿就不穿。第二条，广东话里的“冲凉”，即不停地冲澡来降温，第三，关键情绪上也要cool down。

“再不济，我们有浴缸，泡澡时里面还可以加冰块。” 他真真假假地说着。

上了一天班，吃完饭，彼此都累了，也不想再找人，也不想自己去看个究竟。加州的夜晚再热最后也凉了下来。我拿出放在车库多年没用的那种卡在窗户上能抽凉风进来的风扇，加上屋顶的吊扇，迷迷糊糊地度过没有空调的第一晚。

第二天周六，某人准备自己修了。打开外面空调机上的一块铁板，发现里面应该是电容坏了。我跑去Home Depot找相应的电容, 发现没有货，附近的店家都没有同样型号的货。只有网上购买。又逢是周末周日，等货到，周末也过了。看来还要战天斗地几天。

周六晚上六点有广场舞锻炼。如果说平时我还会犹豫片刻，那天的我没有理由犹豫，没有理由不去。人家是走出空调房去锻炼，我则是逃离“练丹炉”。事实证明，出去是对的，至少那夜有舞友相伴，有暖风相送。待血红的夕阳散去，天边升起一弯如钩的新月。

再次体会到了为什么生活在热带地方的人比较懒惰。周末，除去必要的家务、买菜、去图书馆还书，和两次广场舞，下午闷热的时光则是躺在一楼沙发上追剧中度过，懒散地不想动弹。不过，周日晚饭后还是额外地发了面做馒头。在这样的气温下，面两三个小时就发好了。待两屉馒头搓揉成型放进蒸笼，内衣里一身汗。

我终于在冬暖夏凉之地，体会了一次酷夏（而非“cool夏“：）的味道，重温了记忆里的那股燥热，那种汗流浃背的酣畅。

9/9日周一去公司上班避暑，见到了又一轮新来的CFO。 5：40下班路上，见那一半天空黑雾迷漫--又有山火在山的另一边肆虐。。。

周五9/06 早上8：04的天空，难得一见的满天云朵：





周五下午拿出家里的温度计，放置太阳下，很快温度计上显示（119F）。放置遮阴处，大概是101F。



9/9 下班后6点左右看到的天空。山火在山的另一头：



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.