Day 21: Which is worse, too hot or too cold

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 21: Which is worse, too hot or too cold

OMG, it’s hot. One source says it’s 27 deg C (80.6 deg F), but it feels like 32 deg C (89.6 deg F). Baloney others say it’s 30 deg C (86 deg F) but it feels like 42 deg C (107.6 deg F).

Personally, I’m inclined to believe the latter. It is hot ... OMG, it’s just boiling out there. There is a heat warning in effect but not many people will take that warning to heart. Even though the message states, ‘If you don’t have to go out, stay indoors’, many will venture out and end up in the hospital or worse, in the morgue. Yes, that’s how hot it is.

Now today’s post is once again inspired by a friend. Amidst this heatwave, her A/C packed up. I can relate to that.

In the summer of 2010 the A/C in the condo building where I live gave the ghost. From what I’ve been told, management and the Board of Directors had been warned that is was about to happen, but they chose to ignore the inspector. 

When the A/C suddenly stopped working, Toronto was experiencing a heatwave with temperatures exceeding 40 deg C (104 deg F). We were dying in our units!

Dieter went out to Walmart and got three fans. Two medium-sized ones for the bedrooms and a big one for the living room. The first time he switched it on, it sounded like a helicopter was about to take off. The cool air was wonderful though.

In addition to the fans, I constantly had my feet in cold water, and a towel soaked in cold water around my neck.

After three days the heatwave broke and temperatures went down to 32 deg C (89.6 deg F). Still hot, but a lot cooler than it was before. 

All in all, we spend 18 without A/C.

When the situation was finally resolved, the residents demanded a reduction in maintenance fees. After all, why pay for the convenience of A/C when there was no A/C for 18 days. Management and the Board of Directors said no, and no amount of pleading or threatening would change their mind. 

A few residents said we should take them to court for pain and suffering, yet that didn’t happen. Lawyers require a hefty retainer and charge a fortune by the hour. Money that none of the residents had, and management and the Board of Directors knew that.

Funny enough, three years later we experienced the opposite situation ... an ice storm with temperatures of -32 deg C (25.6 deg F) when we had no heat, no electricity, and no water. 

While the majority of residents of Ontario had their power back within 72 hours, the building where I live had to make do without heat, electricity and water for 18 days. Apparently, the generator had packed up (another thing management and the Board of Directors had ignored) and now we were all paying the price.

Nature turned into a winter wonderland, with the sun glinting off the frozen trees, but few of us could appreciate the beauty of it.

Too hot or too cold ... I honestly don’t know which is worse.

  

Small, medium or large?

Over the past few months I have complained about the cold. Here in Toronto, winter started in November and kept us in its icy grip until well into April.

Even when it was officially spring, the temperatures varied from cold, to very cold, to OMG my fingers and toes are frozen.

Now, for the past week or so, it really is spring and would you believe it … I already miss the cool days of winter.

During the day it’s not so bad, with the balcony door open, the temperature inside is, what I would call, comfortable. But the nights, OMG the nights. I can’t even remember the last time I slept good.

With only a small window in the bedroom, the night air is not just warm, it’s oppressive. I rarely fall asleep before 3:00 a.m. and if I do fall asleep, I keep waking up in a sweat.

While I used to enjoy a nap during the day, that’s become impossible too. I can’t fall asleep without some sort of cover, but it’s too warm for any type of covering. So it’s a catch 22.

Air-conditioning you might say … great idea, except I live in a condo building where the management decides when the A/C gets switched on and apparently they don’t think A/C is needed yet.

So, until I get the use of A/C, I have to make do with a fan. Do I have a fan … as a matter of fact, I have three: small, medium and large.

The small one releases nothing more than a gentle breeze. It’s perfect for very local use, such as a nightstand.

The medium sized one is what I use the most. It has three settings and a swivel head, and gives off an acceptable stream of cool air. Except, it’s still very local. If I’m in bed, and I turn over, I feel cool air on my back instead of my face.

The large fan is more suitable for the living room than the bedroom. For one, it makes so much noise, it’s like a helicopter is about to take off. And two, the emitted air is so powerful, I run the risk of being blown out of my bed.

A few people in my building have a ceiling fan installed, but I’m not in favor of that concept. I have visions of such a fan falling from the ceiling and decapitating me or one of the cats that sleep on my bed.

Think about it, those ceiling fans have huge blades, which rotate at an increasable speed. If such a fan were to fall, it could do some real damage. So, if you had to choose between having a hot head or no head at all what would you pick … (I thought so).

So until the management of this building decides that it’s hot enough for the A/C to be switched on, I’ll suffer in silence and melt, inch by inch, pound per pound.

A new 'chiller'

There is good news and there is bad news.

The bad news is, the ‘chiller’ of the A/C has packed up. After fiddling with silicone and gaskets, and the machine being red flagged by the Health & Safety inspector, the A/C technicians have given up.

The good news is that the building is getting a new chiller. Long overdue and at a most inopportune time, but better late than never.

More bad news is, it could take weeks for this new chiller to arrive. Apparently there are no chillers in Canada, so management went shopping in the States. As soon as the chiller arrives it will be installed.

Of course, I and everybody else in this building is wondering when that will happen. Will the machine arrive in July? August? Or will we get cooling when we no longer need it?

Meanwhile people have been most helpful with suggesting cooling tips.

- Dress loose and light
- Avoid activity such as cooking and cleaning (I can definitely live with that)
- Put wet cloths in front of the fans
- Put ice in front of the fans

I'm trying everything.

Meanwhile the fans are doing their job.
The two small ones are keeping the bedrooms cool and a big one is cooling the living room. He is so big and powerful, I have him on speed 1. On speed 3 he would blow the cushions out of the sofa.

Have a look at this big boy ...