In Finland, or the UK for that matter, buying a couple of computer parts is a trivial task. Just pop into one of the shops near the marketplace such as Clas Ohlsen or Anttila, and you’re pretty much done. For more complicated parts, a bus trip to Jimm’s PC Store and you’re sorted. In Lake Forest, if you don’t have a car, you are going to have to employ your desert survival training. With the exception of the Nevada Desert, I have never been anywhere so hot in my life. But then, I haven’t travelled much. So imagine my surprise when a journey to a computer shop 2 miles away turned into a quest for shade, sunblock, air-conditioning and water.
I’d spent the past two weeks cursing at the clouds and the 12°C (54°F) temperature in Turku and I was champing at the bit to get over to California again where it was allegedly ‘cooling down’ to a comfortable level. Then, two days after I arrived, there was a freak heatwave — 38°C (101°F) in the shade and I’m walking home down El Toro Road which happens to face in just the right direction that there is absolutely no shade at all. My water turned into a steamy beverage so I jumped into a small grocery store which was run by a Hispanic chap who was actually telling a friend it was a little bit too hot for him. The shop had no aircon, just an enormous fan standing on the floor. I stood in front of it for a few seconds and then bought a cold water which I devoured on the last leg of the journey home.
I’d had the sense to take a bus to the shop, but just getting from the bus stop to the shop itself was a major challenge, a kind of hopping game, hopping from shade to shade as quickly as possible. I used the nearby El Toro library as a base during this mission; aircon, free wifi and silence. There I applied 50 sunblock to all my exposed parts — and since I now have no sunburn I think this was a truly wise idea.
I bought a small network switch and a couple of cables; now we have multiple computer connectivity which reaches out to the patio without the need for a wireless access point. I consider the mission a complete success. Maya rewarded me with Indian food. This girl is a genius.
Leo and Maya: Real Life 