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.

  

Day 142: Management decided to turn off the A/C

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 142: Management decided to turn off the A/C

Even though the summer of 2018 will go down in history as the hottest year around the world, with heatwave after heatwave, the management of our condo building has seen fit to switch off the air-conditioning.

Never mind that yesterday’s temperature reached 32 degrees C (89.6 degrees F) and people are just about fainting in their units, according to some stupid bylaw the heat must be switched on by September 15th and that is the rule the manager of this building followed.

Technically, our building doesn’t have to follow that rule, because it is a condo building, not an apartment building and as such the government doesn’t have any say over us, but because the building holds approximately 10 rentals the bylaw gets enforced.

I’ve lived in this building for the past 18 years and this is the first time this rule has actually been enforced. Other years the building manager used common sense. If the temperature is still in the high 20s he waited with switching off the air-conditioning, after all, who needs heat when it’s still so hot.

However, this year we have a new building manager, a woman, and she goes by the book. When a notice was posted in the elevators that the air-conditioning would be switched off the next day, residents descended on the management office to complain about this decision. Some asked, some pleaded, some begged for the air-conditioning to stay on, but the manager could not be swayed. She said that some people might be cold and might need heat.

Some people might need heat!!! ... When it’s boiling hot outside!!! ... who are these people?

At first the lack of cool air was not such a problem, as the temperature remained below 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), but as from Thursday the temperature climbed and climbed, reaching 32 degrees yesterday. To say that it was uncomfortable inside would be an understatement. It went from warm, to hot, to stifling. Nobody had any energy and tempers flared.

If you live in a house, don’t think for a moment that this a the same as living in a condo. There’s a big difference between living in a brick and mortar house and a south facing, glass fronted condo on the 11th floor.

To bring some relief we have two fans going, but that only cools to air to a certain extent.  And if the days are difficult, the nights are even worse. Who can sleep in this heat?

Charlotte, Gabriel, Holly and Halley suffered too. In a way it’s worse for them then for us. While we could position ourselves in front of a fan or take a cold shower, the cats were laying flat on the hardwood floor, under the bed, or sought relief from the heat in the relatively cool walk in closet. After a while they figured out that though that the fan was nothing to be afraid of and sat in places where the wind of the fan lifted their fur.

Greyson was the only one who wasn’t bothered by the heat. For him it was business as usual. He ran around and played, but for once he couldn’t find anyone to play with. The others clearly were not in the mood.

Today it’s a little cooler than yesterday, and tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday will be cooler still, but on Friday temperatures are going up again. Well, technically it’s still summer until September 21st. Only the manager of our building seems to think it’s already fall.

Day 87: Suffering from back pain? Go bowling

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 87: Suffering from back pain? Go bowling

As some of you may remember, on November 4^th I hurt my back. It started with a tiny pinprick in my lower back, the pain progressed throughout the day and by 10:00 p.m. I was in agony. Everything I did, whether it was sitting down, getting up or moving around, I did slowly and with utter care as the slightest wrong move caused me excruciating pain.

Today, three and a half months later, the pain is much better, but my back has not completely healed. Standing for an extended period of time or walking a distance still causes me discomfort. Not just in my lower back but between and under my shoulder blades.

According to my doctor, I had to go see a physiotherapist. At this point I would do anything to get rid of this pain so off I went.

A short conversation with the clinic’s receptionist told me that a session with the therapist would cost me $90 for 40 minutes and every session afterward would be $65 for 20 minutes. Since I don’t have insurance, this would come out of my own pocket. Fine, if that’s what it took I would pay.

I looked forward to my appointment the next day, but it was all rather disappointing. The therapist asked me a lot of questions, followed by some stretching, pushing and poking. Aware of my discomfort she offered a 3-minute massage and a 10-minute heat treatment.

I must admit, my back felt better after the massage and the heat treatment but later that day everything went south. OMG, I was in so much pain I actually felt worse than before, much worse.

According to the therapist, this was normal. This was why she would have to see me 3 times a week for the next 10 weeks. I did a quick calculation … $65 x 3 x 10 would come to $1,950. That was quite a shock to my finances.

On Saturday morning I went bowling. I was more than a little hesitant given the state of my back, but I felt I had to try. If I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do it, but I would at least have given it a shot. Rather than bowling full-out as I usually do, I threw my ball with care, ever conscious of my spine and surrounding muscles. After three games I called it quits though. The games had gone fine, but I didn’t want to push my luck.

Today, some 36 hours later my back pain has all but disappeared. No more pain in my lower back, no more pain between or under my shoulder blades. Price of the games … $6.

Conclusion … before you see a physiotherapist and spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars, GO BOWLING!!!

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