The long hot and dry spell hitting us before CNY is really a drag. Save for an hour of rain two days ago, my area hasn’t seen rain for more than a week.

Our air-cons are running throughout the night and whenever the kids nap during the day. The utility bill is going to skyrocket this month. But I imagine everyone in the neighbourhood will have to pay extra for electricity this month. During Chinese New Year, our home experienced short blackouts due to shortage of electricity I presume. I bet everyone in the neighbourhood is sleeping with air-cons blowing at full blast.

House chores seem extra miserable under the sweltering heat. My husband showers no less than five times a day. The moment we step out of the shower, we sweat. Considering we have no luxury of relaxing under the fan, or even sitting still for more than 15 minutes, we are literally sweating the entire day.

The worst thing is our house faces west, where we face the sun everyday from 2pm to 7pm. You do not want to buy a house facing west, period. We are renting one now, but never would we be buying one. Even if being offered 20% below market value.