More previous thoughts.

www.aimco.com

A great thing about my apartment complex is that there are no entrace gates.

I hate those things.

-459 degrees F

I'm FREEZING.

I hate the winter. Ever since I moved to Atlanta, I've spent the entirety of each winter just plain cold. The only time I haven't been cold during any of the past three winters is when I've been working in Florida, south of Jacksonville. And the only thing I like about working in that part of Florida is the lack of cold. Which I guess explains all the Yankees in that part of Florida, which in turn definitely explains why I don't like Florida south of Jacksonville.

You say I'm exaggerating when I say I spend the entire winter cold? Consider:

1) My apartment. I love my apartment; the location and the rent simply cannot be beaten. Where else are you going to find a two-bedroom, two-bath place for under a thousand a month? I mean, in Buckhead that's practically free. But I have a ground floor, corner apartment. Normally, this is a good thing -- less traffic, less noise from adjacent units. But my bedroom is on the corner of the building, and with two walls facing the outside, it's a MEATLOCKER. Whatever paltry amount of heat that manages to meander into my bedroom from the moderately effective vent seeps RIGHT BACK OUT through the walls and windows. From November through February, the bed has a four-blanket minimum. Even as I type this at midnight, I'm still fully dressed with a thick afghan blanket around my shoulders. I'd love to put on my robe and get comfortable for the night, but that would mean FREEZING TO DEATH. When given the choice between looking like an old woman (the afghan has that effect, you know) and having frostbite, well, pass me my knitting needles and bifocals.

Normally I would seek respite from my frigid bedroom in the usually-warmer living area, but I discovered earlier this week that weatherstripping around the front door has dry-rotted. What tipped me off? The whistling sound and arctic blast emanating from the doorjamb. So as the temperature outside drops below twenty degrees tonight--AGAIN--so, proportionally, does the temperature inside my whole apartment. I'm seriously considering burning some of my furniture for extra heat.

2)My office. My office is a constant source of temperature-related emotional stress. I have a front office (with a window!) in a squat, rectangular building that faces due west. Not only did the building designer have no aesthetic sensibility, he didn't have any sensibility, period, because there aren't any trees around the building to regulate the temperature. Which means that when I arrive at my office on winter mornings, it makes my apartment feel like, oh, MIAMI by comparison. And if I crank up the thermostat, all it does is roast everybody else without substantially effecting my immediate surroundings. Last winter I broke down and bought a space heater, and let me tell you, I am sorely disappointed with that thing.

3)My job. I'm a field engineer. I work outside, people! Do I really need to elaborate? If I'm not on a project in Orlando or someplace latitudinally lower, I AM FREEZING MY A** OFF, AND HAVING TO DEAL WITH THE WIND, TO BOOT. Sort of makes your dull office-bound position sound a little more desirable, doesn't it? I was going to go to Montgomery one day this week to do a little work, but one look at the forecast and I just said NUH-UH.

The moral? There is no moral here, people; there is only my opinion, which can be summed up thusly:

WINTER SUCKS. Can't wait 'til spring.