This is the way Heat Watch ends, not with a Bang but a...uh...
Since November 4, the day our radiators began to feel warm to the touch, I've been hopeful that we out here in Changping would also be enjoying an early start to the heating season like other parts of Beijing.
In the weeks (yes, weeks) since, while I have had limited access to the internet outside of China, I have been waiting for the real heat, the warming heat, to arrive. I've been out and about in Changping, compulsively touching every other radiator I see, whether it is at a coffee shop or a friends' apartment, to see if our unchanged radiators are perhaps malfunctioning. Everywhere we went, I found the same condition as in our home. Warm-ish but not warming radiators.
Then Saturday, as in yesterday, the 17th day of November, the kids and I went to a birthday party in Changping. Randy drove the kids and me there straight from baseball in Shunyi, and then he returned home himself.
As has become my habit, I touched one of the radiators in our friends' apartment in passing during the party. It felt very warm; hot, in fact. The birthday girl's mom told us that her place had been comfortable all day. I told Randy about it later when he picked us up after the party. Wait until we get home, he said.
And yes, when we got home it was truly noticeable. The radiators were now hot to the touch, and could be felt from a few inches a way. The apartment was warmer, too. Not cozy, but better than before.
So, for 2012, I am calling a close to our annual Heat Watch. Thanks everyone again for playing along at home, and we'll check back in March for the end of the season.
In the weeks (yes, weeks) since, while I have had limited access to the internet outside of China, I have been waiting for the real heat, the warming heat, to arrive. I've been out and about in Changping, compulsively touching every other radiator I see, whether it is at a coffee shop or a friends' apartment, to see if our unchanged radiators are perhaps malfunctioning. Everywhere we went, I found the same condition as in our home. Warm-ish but not warming radiators.
Then Saturday, as in yesterday, the 17th day of November, the kids and I went to a birthday party in Changping. Randy drove the kids and me there straight from baseball in Shunyi, and then he returned home himself.
As has become my habit, I touched one of the radiators in our friends' apartment in passing during the party. It felt very warm; hot, in fact. The birthday girl's mom told us that her place had been comfortable all day. I told Randy about it later when he picked us up after the party. Wait until we get home, he said.
And yes, when we got home it was truly noticeable. The radiators were now hot to the touch, and could be felt from a few inches a way. The apartment was warmer, too. Not cozy, but better than before.
So, for 2012, I am calling a close to our annual Heat Watch. Thanks everyone again for playing along at home, and we'll check back in March for the end of the season.
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