21 August 2010: Broken

The air conditioning downstairs broke.

This is bad news: it's the one that always works, and has been very handy what with the temps in the high thirties (Celcius) and 'heat index' a good five degrees above that. Yesterday it was 33 (only!) and the downstairs AC just gave up and started pumping out warm air instead of cold. Now, it's central air, not a box in the windows, and it lives somewhere up on the roof. Being renters, we call the landlord which is good from a cost point of view but not from a saturday morning point of view - haven't heard back and may not until Monday.

So all the windows are open and fans going, but even with the rain, it's still about 30 today and naturally there's the noisy (not to mention food-smelly) Taste Of Kokomo festival outside our now-open windows today. The upstairs AC, which is usually the more temperamental of the two, seems to be able to handle 30 just about, so it's cool up there, which is a relief for the now nine-months-plus Gloria-and-baby combination.

Due date, incidentally, was Tuesday, and that came and went without a baby. All the signs are there, everything checked off the list, but I suppose she'll come when she's ready. Or possibly she's thinking the same thing: "mummy (or 'mommy', depending on her accent, which should be interesting to hear), just push me out, ok?". She's been head-down for five weeks now, she must be pretty bored.

So we continue, my dad in town for a week and a half already, waiting for the event, and the Texas exodus to begin this weekend, whether the baby comes or not. And the noise gets louder outside, and the temperature inside continues to rise, so we consider dining options for the evening that don't involve staying in. And I wonder how people lived in so many parts of the USA that get this hot - or hotter - in the summer for so many decades without air conditioning.

Cold baths, I expect.