It’s cold. No surprise, New England winters are supposed to be cold. Inside though, with the oil heat, and insulation? It is not supposed to be this cold.
Our little alcove near the elevators is only marginally warmer than the middle of Boylston street, which isn’t really that bad when you get here in the morning after walking down Boylston – warmer is warmer. But, after about an hour you start to realize you’re still cold, not because you haven’t warmed up yet, but because they’re not pumping in enough heat to warm up yet.
When it’s this cold there are only a few options
(1) Go get something warm to drink, like coffee.
This almost never happens, because a Dunkin’ Donuts run means braving the great outdoors again, and you’ve only just gotten feeling back in your hands.
(2) Go stand on the other side of the office.
They’ve got heat, they don’t mind, they’ll even talk to you. Just don’t stand between them and the printer. That’s like stepping between a polar bear and her cub. Of course, on that side of the office you can’t get any work done, and a lot of the work is time sensitive, so you’ll have to go back to your desk eventually, leaving you with option three:
(3) Bundle up.
Don’t even bother taking your coat off when you get in. Sit as close to your computer as you can, trying to suck in some warmth from the cathode rays bombarding your eyeballs, huddle in your chair and wrap that jacket tight. To be as warm as possible you should keep your hat and gloves on too, but the dress code says no hats, and the gloves make typing “audit guide request form” look like “sdoitg u8ie rreqwudst frorm.”
By the end of the day most of my typing looks like that anyway because my fingers are too cold to work properly. I guess it’s not so bad, though, winter only lasts from September to June up here.
-t
recommended download:
Flogging Molly, To Youth (My Sweet Roisin Dubh)
4 comments:
I work in the "sun porch" of my boss' place. This means that in the summer it's a greenhouse and in the winter... well, let's just say that most of the storm windows don't go down like they should. I've taken to wearing tights under my jeans. :)
YES. Exactly. No joke, last night I was honestly thinking about buying a pair of long underwear for work. I don't even know where to find them.
My boss suggested we all chip in for a space heater...but that warrants its own rant.
I'm googling "longjohns" right now.'
-tgme
You should try googling City of Boston heat requirements. I know that landlords are REQUIRED to keep apartment buildings above 60 degrees at all times, and warmer in the evening when people are home. I assume that the city has something similar in place for workspaces.
If not, screw your boss - head over to the CVS across the street (practically) and pick up a cheap space heater. Then expense it.
I can't "expense it" I don't have an expense account. That's plain crazy.
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