Dear Alison,
After March 11th,
the government announced that it was going to have to implement rolling
blackouts in order to save energy and divert it north to the devastated
Tohoku region. The blackouts weren't nearly as bad or as frequent
as it was initially thought they would be, BECAAAAUUUSE, everyone
in the rest of the country just PITCHED IN and SWITCHED OFF! (Hey!
That would be cool on a t-shirt! "Pitch in and switch off!")
Despite the fact
that nearly all the bulbs in our house are LEDs, we have most of the
lights turned off. We try to stay in the same room together so that
we don't have to have lights on all over the place.
Department stores
turned off window display lighting and unnecessary interior lights;
a bit gloomy perhaps, but nothing one can't live with. The convenience
stores have cut lighting as well. Only some of the ceiling lights
are on and the display cases are dark! I can still see what's on the
dairy shelves and fresh produce shelves, so why do they need the lights
on at ANY time?! WASTE!!! My gym only uses lights over the stretching
area, everything else is dark, including the dance studio. It's actually
quite relaxing without all the bright fluorescent lighting!
Most escalators
are off at the train and subway stations, (as well as lights), and
everyone is taking the stairs. Good for the body, good for the country,
good for the environment. Even the elderly, and I'm talkin' OOOOOOOOLLD
people, are goin' up the stairs with their canes and crutches. One
step at a time. One step at a time. NO ONE is complaining. Everyone
is pitching in for the common good.
My eight-story college
has set the elevators so that they only go up to the upper floors.
You need to go to the fifth floor for class?
You take the stairs. Staff room and student lounge are on the third
floor. Everyone takes the stairs. Lights in the student lounge are
off. (Last Friday, however, I went out twice, and had to turn them
off and scream at the kids, "THINK OF THE PEOPLE IN TOHOKU! IF
YOU CAN'T SEE, THEN SIT BY THE WINDOWS! WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE ENERGY!!!"
(That "virago-personality-thing" runs in the family!!!)
Summer is going
to be hard with the soaring temperatures and the jungle humidity.
Everyone has been asked to limit or eliminate the use of air conditioning
to conserve power. It always kills me when people in Toronto moan
about how humid it is there. They have NOOOOOO idea what humidity
is! Walking on the streets of Tokyo at the peak of summer when the
temps go up close to 40 C and the humidex thingamy makes it seem like
48, is like walking through hot, wet blankets! Two steps outside and
you're wringing wet, but most people, including men, carry hand-held
fans which make a HUGE difference! Apparently the stores are rapidly
selling out of electric (!!!) fans. I know they still use power, but
nowhere near as much as an air conditioner. We have to have SOMETHING!
Shun and I didn't use the air-con for years, until the elderly lady
next door complained about the dog howling out the open windows at
dawn. He's an Italian Greyhound, but I guess he's got a bit of rooster
in him. Now we have to close everything up at night, so we use one
air conditioner for a few hours just to sleep, otherwise we would
suffocate! If you DON'T use any kind of cooling system, you actually
acclimatize faster, and the heat and humidity don't bother you nearly
as much.
When I had my sinus
surgery 4 years ago, I was given an "ice-pillow" to bring
down my temperature. FABULOUS! Like a giant rubber hot- water bottle/douche-bag!
Bought two for us and they are WONDERFUL behind a hot neck! That and
rubbing an ice cube over one's wrists or applying cologne to one's
temples!!! (I think I just had a Scarlett O'Hara moment! LOL!)
We had yet another
hefty tremor yesterday morning when I was walking Dinkey and it scared
the crap out of both of us. Usually when I'm inside you don't notice
the initial vibrations, just the jolt and rocking, but yesterday I
felt the damned thing well before it hit, vibrating up through my
Crocs, my feet, my shins. Unnerving and frightening. At first I thought,
subway? Then I remembered there are no subway lines under where I
was standing. CRAP! EARTHQUAKE!
IS IT GOING TO BE ANOTHER BIG ONE?! Heart started racing and I was
wondering where we could go when WHAM! it hit! Short and strong.
Got home to books on the floor, but we still have a roof!
Anyway, my dear,
hope all is well with you and yours!
XOX
