Tag: Humidity Stupidity

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (and Living) in Ridiculously Humid Climes

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (and Living) in Ridiculously Humid Climes

  A month or two ago, my third external hard drive in three years decided to just stop being a functioning external hard drive. It was only a year and a half old when it died and took all of my laptop’s back ups with 

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #15: Miranda Ward of A Literal Girl

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #15: Miranda Ward of A Literal Girl

This one has been a long time coming. Today I bring you the lovely and talented Miranda Ward of A Literal Girl. Poor Miranda’s interview and photo folder lay dormant while I was off galavanting in the wilds of Sri Lanka last month, neglecting most 

Kandy: Whoa, I Think I May Have Entered a Parallel Universe By Mistake

Kandy: Whoa, I Think I May Have Entered a Parallel Universe By Mistake

I was going to title this post Kandy Says, but I doubt anyone would get (or favourably appreciate) the Velvet Underground reference.  But you know what? I have no clue what Kandy is saying. Seriously. This town is a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped 

(101 Things About Shanghai) Summer Nights

(101 Things About Shanghai) Summer Nights

  Shanghai summers are deeply unpleasant. Temperatures tend to hover in the mid 30s, with weather forecasts adding ‘feels like 45+’ just below the technically correct temperature. Humidity has been around 85% lately, which, really, honestly, is pretty freaking awful. We have the dehumidifier running 

(101 Things about Shanghai) Work/Learn/Chocolate

(101 Things about Shanghai) Work/Learn/Chocolate

  Things have been somewhat unsettled here on the Eastern Front since getting back from Myanmar. Aside from the unnervingly deafening death rattle of the cicadas everywhere above you in the trees, the heat has been hovering in the late 30s with a bazillion percent 

Can I Show You a Bit of Myanmar?

Can I Show You a Bit of Myanmar?

And we’re back. And I’ve been floored with a tummy bug that whacked me over the head sometime last night, after we got back into Shanghai in a taxi that thought it had a jet engine. After 7 white-knuckle flights in a month (3 of 

On the road to Mandalay, eventually

On the road to Mandalay, eventually

You can actually fly to Mandalay from Yangon for about $75US, so the romance of the road is somewhat lessened.  After bouncing around the Mon State south east of Yangon for the past week, I’ve come to value the brevity of flights. I’ve learned a 

Notes on Yangon (which is also Rangoon)

Notes on Yangon (which is also Rangoon)

1. Burmese script initially reminded me of the patterns woodbugs make when tunnelling into a two-by-four, then I decided it looked like binary code without the 1s, as seen through a wonky dot matrix printer, and now I’ve finally reconciled myself to the idea that 

From Yangon, with sanity

From Yangon, with sanity

Obviously no one briefed the censors that I was coming. This site is one of the only things out there that isn’t blocked.  Thank you for your trust, Junta. Appreciated.     We arrived yesterday morning after a long (and yet not long at all) 

Compare and Contrast

Compare and Contrast

I’ve been stupidly busy this week, between finishing up my year’s marking (done!), trying to find brand new, unmarked, unfolded American dollars for our trip to Myanmar on Friday (the junta is fussy about money and they don’t have ATM machines or take credit cards 

(101 Things About Shanghai) Plum Rains

(101 Things About Shanghai) Plum Rains

Last night around 10, my immune system decided it felt like inviting a cold around for a visit. Just as I was readying myself for what ought to have been a full night’s sleep, my nose went awry and my eyeballs hummed. This alone would 

(101 things about Shanghai) Grim, grim, grim meteorological tendencies

(101 things about Shanghai) Grim, grim, grim meteorological tendencies

Shanghai in June is pretty grim. So is Shanghai between November and, say, March. Or maybe April. May and October can be quite nice, with skies you can actually see and skylines with visibility beyond the nearest few blocks. A lot of the year is