Shanghai'd

Humid and Hot.
We're supposed to be entering the "Plum rain" season in Shanghai, a month long period of steady rain. Instead the last few days have been Men Re. Record high temperatures are pushing a sticky 40 C (over 100 for the Celsius-challenged), the latest installment in Shanghai's consistently crappy year-round weather. In Austin the heat is undeniable, but if you stop to think about it, how often do you even notice? Most people blissfully leave their air-conditioned homes for their air-conditioned commute to air-conditioned work and back again. Thankfully our apartment has air, but my bike, most taxis, restaurants, and my office (for all intents and purposes) do not.

On the bright side ... my colleagues told me that some schools and businesses will send people home if the temp gets above 35 C. Kinda the Chinese equivalent of a snow day. In reality, I've come to realize that just means the "official" temp in China is uncannily reported as 34.5 or 34.7 regardless of how hot it really is!