A wave of bitter cold swept through, well, everywhere, apparently. I hadn’t been watching the news because I’ve been on vacation, so I’ve missed the weather forecasts. Being on vacation also meant I didn’t get dressed until well after the sun was up, and even then I could just pull on a sweatshirt and jeans. Coming back to work I have to put on a button-down shirt and jeans because there’s at least some flexibility in the office dress code. It’s better than when I was a customer service agent for the trucking industry. The dress code there required slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie so I’d at least look nice while I sat at a desk and answered the phone all day.
The cold weather outside was made even worse by the fact that the building maintenance staff turned off the heat over Thanksgiving. The person in charge of maintenance believes it’s cheaper and more efficient to turn off the heat on holidays and weekends, and since the maintenance office has a separate heating system they don’t have to come into an office that’s fifty degrees Fahrenheit—that’s ten degrees Celsius—first thing on Monday morning.
At least I feel lucky that where I am the bitter cold held off until December, with the days only now getting noticeably shorter. I left for work in the dark, after scraping flowers of frost from the windshield, and was greeted by the sun through the buildings. And then, in the evening, when I came home in the dark, I was greeted by snow.
The idea of turning off the heat, whether for a single day or an entire holiday season, is far from cost-effective and could ultimately result in higher expenses for the company. It seems more likely that the maintenance staff may be prioritizing their own job security over genuine cost-saving measures.
Thomas Slatin recently posted…The Muses Companion – December 2, 2024
I think the maintenance staff is definitely prioritizing their job security, though the organizational structure means they have very little to worry about in that regard whether they turn off the heat or not.
I still remember the time I got stuck in the rain without an umbrella while waiting for the bus. It was a real downpour, and I had to run to the nearest shop to take cover.
I know what that’s like! I had the same experience once–luckily only once–and still had to run through the rain to get to the bus when it finally showed up. The bus stopped at a stop sign right next to the shop where I was waiting out the rain and I had to go and tap on the door. The driver almost didn’t hear me over the rain.
Today was the first day it snowed this season, Chris. It amazes me that Nashville got snow weeks before Boston did, but here we are.
It is amazing that Nashville got snow before Boston. It was even more amazing that some of it stuck to the ground. Nashville usually only gets one good snowfall a year, if that, and only in January or February. We’ve had some snow in March but that’s almost as rare as snow in November.