Sadly, it is time for me to return now to the "real world" here in the blogosphere. That means too much time on my hands, and more random thoughts shared with the world. Aren't you glad? I know you are.

Note for my fellow Peru travelers; this is the last post for which I will be sending you a notification, since no more posts will be directly pertaining to the trip. If you would like to continue to receive notifications, you can sign up as a subscriber, or just let me know and I'll keep you on the notification list. I can't believe we've been back for a month already!

Peruvian earthquake survivors are still in need of aid. Donations can be made here.

Upon returning from Peru, I had a shortened work week (thank god, since I had so much to do), then a normal work week, then a nice 4 day weekend for Labor Day. Well, it would've been nice, except that it was FREAKIN' HOT. 4 days of 100+ degree weather (that's 38+ degrees to you celsians), and me with no AC. Not to mention I have a flat roofed house, with no insulation. What it all boils down to, literally, is that it was roughly the same temperature inside my house as outside. So I sat in my own personal sauna, sweating like...well...like something that sweats a lot, for 4 days. I went all over town to try to find a portable air conditioner. Everyone was sold out. I was looking for a portable rather than a window unit because my apartment is equipped with ISOW's (Idiotic Sideways-Opening Windows) which would require minor construction involving plywood and drills to utilize a window unit. After another day of baking, I was ready to do just that, and went all over town only to find out that all the window units I'd seen the day before were now sold out. So, I had to make do with fans, which were just like large hair-dryers, really, and borrowing my roommate's portable AC when he was out of the house. I finally found a portable AC online, and ordered it, but it wouldn't arrive for 3-5 days. It was so hot, the heat permeated every atom of my apartment. Everything was warm to the touch. There was nothing cool I could put my hands on. All my clothes, even on the very bottom of the drawer, felt like they'd just come out of the dryer. I had to carry a towel with me in order to avoid leaving a big me-shaped sweat spot wherever I sat down. It was so hot, I was considering going in to work, just because there is AC there.

So my AC finally arrived the following Friday. As could be predicted, the temperature immediately dropped into the 70's, and it has been falling steadily since. I have not needed the AC a single day since I received it. Still, it also doubles as a heater, and I'm told my apartment will be as cold in the winter as it is outside. So at least there's that.  Last night, I actually put a blanket on my bed. That's how much cooler it's gotten. That AC sure looks pretty sitting there in my room, though.

Happy Fall on Saturday! Happy Yom Kippur, too.

Since I didn't want to break the flow of my Peru blog, I haven't written anything to commemorate my Alma Mater, Appalachian State,  pulling off what has been called the biggest upset in college football history, beating then #5 FBS team Michigan 34-32. All the folks over here on the west coast now know who I'm talking about when I mention ASU, which is neat. Ohio State fans give me a big smile when they see me in my Mountaineer gear.

The other week, my friend Mana invited me to a "Burning Down The House" party. There is a house that was being rented to students, in a nice neighborhood in Point Loma, overlooking the San Diego Bay with nice views of downtown and the famous Coronado Bridge. The house was built in the 70's, and just screamed "disco" from the moment you walk in. I assumed there had once been neon shag carpet, but it had since been replaced with tamer brown carpet. The reason the party had this theme is that the owner's have decided to demolish the house and build a bigger, more contemporary one on the site. So the plan had been to let party-goers actually demolish the house. That sounds like fun, huh? Unfortunately, the owners delayed their plans for a month, and that, coupled with fears of injuries and law suits, made them scrap their demolition party plans. Despite it's disco-ness, this was still a very nice house, with a pool in the backyard overlooking all the views noted above. I woulda lived there in a second. The rooms were all HUGE with built in shelving in the walls. Although I get weird feelings every time I see remnants from disco culture, for some reason, I could overlook the garish 70's light fixtures. Our party, for the party, was a motley one indeed. I went with a Persian, an Indian, a Swede, a Canadian and a Mexican. I don't know why, but I like hanging around with people when I'm the only white guy. Well, the Canadian guy is white, but you get my point.