I just ordered an air conditioner, and not a moment too soon. I think I've gone through three trays of ice cubes singly handedly in the last two days. My excuse for today is that I got lost in Central Park trying to find a nice reading spot in the shade. Anytime I go in there I get completely disoriented by all the dogs and joggers and bodies of water, and somehow I always end up on Central Park West across the street from the Museum of Natural History, feeling spit-out and overheated. Happened again today, and so I walked the long way--the perimeter, where there's street numbers and straight sidewalks--back to my subway stop where I collapsed on a bench.

Now I'm lying on the couch under the ceiling fan, drinking ice water and reading The Monsters of Templeton, which I never want to end.