After living in China and now on the base here in Japan, I have been through many seasons of no heat/no cool. For the unfamiliar, or uninitiated, this is where the government (whose government I am not positive perhaps this is just a local tradition that we don’t have in the US? I don’t really know…..) shuts off the heat and/or air conditioning for a time to save on electricity.
The timing always is fantastic – the heat is usually shut off right before a drop in temperature and the cool right before a spike. However, here are the compiled ways that I have heard over the years that people (myself may or may not be included 
) have used to get through the seasons changes comfortably.
- Turn on the oven and open it just a crack. (This suggestion came from an individual from the fire department. He said this is a very bad idea…..but gives him something to do…….)
- Turn on the shower on “High” to the max amount of heat and open the door. (Also not recommended – the water bill is awful and my apt in China might have had a slight mold problem after a few days of this……eh – you live and learn….)
- Go to your local Pizza Hut and order their endless cup of coffee and camp out for six hours. (In China Pizza Hut serves coffee. The downside of this – severe caffeine high!)
- Drag a space heater with you around the apartment. Its good to buy one on wheels.
- Wear more layers – (this of course is the most obvious, but after months of winter who wants to do that?)
- Iron your clothes before you put them on in the morning. (One girl I heard of threw hers in the microwave. This also didn’t end well.)
For temperature spikes before the air comes on -
- Open the windows (problem: pollution, people barbequing etc. upside, cute little insect visitors!)
- Get a good fan and drag it around the apartment. (this is like the space heater suggestion – reversed)
- Drink lots of iced drinks.
- Take cold showers.
So relax enjoy! Let the creative juices flow…… May will come soon! In the meantime – see everyone at Starbucks where you too will be drinking coffee and mooching off someone else’s heat!
