Defeated by the heat

We admitted defeat last night and gave in, turning the air conditioning back on. A week away from the warmth of Singapore has clearly made us weak.

At the hospital today, in conversation with a midwife, we heard the phrase "Singapore is entering its hot season" which was something I never thought would be used in conversation. It's always hot here: tropics don't get seasons. But perhaps that long cold winter where the mercury drops to 28 Celsius is what she meant. Certainly, it's warm now. We have the air con set to 27 and that still feels chilly to me, but then I'm not trying to maintain homeostasis for two, as that phrase about pregnant mothers goes.

Tonight I read Chimera, the third part of the Subterrene War trilogy. The first part read like a generic war-is-hell story, laced with teenage wish-fulfilment, to the point I wondered if it was pastiche. The second volume went on and on, without really resolving for me, and the third ... Wow. The third was hardbitten military vet meets Apocalypse Now, intermingled with Everyone Thinks The Chinese Are Shits for the grand finale. Lots and lots of power armour, explosions, and a reference to "half of Taiwan" going to war that implies the author doesn't know much about the geography of that island. So, sort of satisfying, but I found it via the free extras tacked on the end of the Milkweed Tryptich, and so it didn't really justify the company it kept. I should say more on this, but not so late at night.

Today I learned that a hungry wolf that's about to eat you has a similar expression to a happy friendly domestic dog. But perhaps that's because both think you're going to feed them, just in different ways. Time, now, to sleep.