Tokyo in summer

Please don't forget my Hong Kong post below, if you have more suggestions to offer up.

Do you like my weather geisha girl? I think she's cute (of course) but, her weather reports do seem to differ from those on other sites, that always say it's hotter and more humid than she does. (It's generally around the mid 30's here at the moment, with humidity around the high 80 to mid 90% range. Not very pleasant, in other words. But, I DO like my little geisha and cuteness is more important than accuracy. Right?

The heat means that by the time I get on my bike every day, the plastic seat has reached an oven-like temperature and is bloody painful to sit on. Burnt bum, anyone? Of course the actual cycle to the station is pretty pleasant and generally quite cool. Until the second I stop, and then I just drip and have to start mopping (with me face cloth) and fanning (with a fan, naturally).

I finally gave in and turned the aircon on yesterday as the fan alone was no longer doing the job. Apart from freezing myself out (which usually happens in the schools anyway as I sit in it all day long), I left it on for most of the night and felt like a prune this morning - my skin had been dried THAT much by the aircon. Ick!

Talking of ick... It finally happened. I spotted cousin of godzilla-the-cicada-golfball. Well, it was more like king kong this time I guess. It was a HUGE cockroach AND it was in my apartment. 2 o'clock in the morning, sitting on my futon, reading and generally winding down to sleep, this HUGE beast scuttled across the floor towards me. Naturally, I screamed and swore my head off, and jumped and wondered what the fuck to do.

I'm a nice person. I don't DO harm to other creatures. I rescue spiders and release them into safety. Of course, if it's small and looks like it might bite me given half a chance, I squish the bastard. But it's a dog eat dog world, no?

Anyway, King Kong the HUGE cockroach, settled on my wall and there was no way I was prepared to ignore it. Thinking through the possible options, I decided if I squished it there'd be a horrible mess to clean up. So, I decided to capture it and get it the hell out of my flat. I grabbed a glass in one hand. I grabbed a piece of paper in the other. Summoning up my courage I crept towards King Kong, lifted the glass, slammed it down on the cockroach - well, it must have seen the glass coming and started moving, which meant I cracked the glass down half way down it's back - heavily - and maybe smashed half it's shell. Whatever, the thing scuttled away anyhow.

I felt I had no choice but to go to bed with it still possibly in my room. I don't think they can hurt you, but shit are they horrible!

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Despite the heat, one of my students has joined a HEAT YOGA class, where the temperature and humidity is turned right up to aim for maximum sweat. I said she should just stand in the street. She said that wasn't sweaty enough. I suggested moving....

Nutter! Everyone else is trying to ESCAPE the sweatiness!