My Loyal Fans

Paris is very hot right now, as recent blaring headlines will testify. It's 95 degrees today -- that's about 36 celsius i think -- and there is just no reason to go outside.

But inside isn't so great either -- without A/C -- so I'm sticking close to my fans. If i spray cold water on myself and stand right in front of the fan, I feel OK.

Cold showers help too, although only temporarily. I've discovered that if I soak my clothes in cold water before putting them on, that provides some longer-lasting relief. I just took my third cold shower of the day, and am sitting in wet shorts on a towel draped over the chair. It's a strange sensation, like I've been to the swimming pool or the beach, but I haven't left my house.

Strangely, although this heat wave was predicted, and the summer of 2003 should have taught people some lessons, Paris still doesn't seem as prepared as it should be. Some places do have air-conditioning, of course -- usually Japanese restaurants, major chain stores (the American influence), movie theaters. But many more are not only A/C-less, they don't have fans. The metro has become unbearable, for instance. And buying a fan in Paris is next to impossible, unless you're willing to wait in line when the stores open, and push through overheated crowds.

Which is why I am very happy that I have this fan and another one, bought before the heat wave struck. I could probably go out on the street right now and sell each one for 150 euros, three times their price. But then of course, I would need a fan myself, and then where would I be? Supply and demand in action...