the climate shock

i miss california.
i was having a good time getting tan and being beachy. on tuesday i spent several beautiful hours with candice and roxanne on balboa island pretending to be some blue-blooded young prince of intrigue agilely traversing the bike paths of martha's vineyard. i wore my tangled saltwatery hair like it was my crown in the royal kennedy bloodline. it was classic literature, iced tea on wicker, a slow atlantic sunset.
but now im back in hong kong, a victim of the humidity, my crown reduced to a spiritless helmet. i sweat without the sun, granted, not nearly as much as if the rainclouds were to dissipate. im constantly aware of anything touching any part of my body; the very spot my short socks grip my ankles, my damp jeans clinging to my thighs and knees, my absolutely suffocating boxer briefs. to go outside is to swim fully clothed.
im never prepared for this part of my summer journey home, the climate shock.