“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 880 (Friday) – a/c adventures

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days.

At 6:15 this morning, the house was a comfortable 76 degrees with cool air blowing from the floor vents and an odd, moderately loud sound coming from the back of the house. Pajamas were traded for lightweight pants and a long sleeve blouse chosen for the usually too chilly downtown office before going outside to investigate.

The air conditioning unit was the source of the noise. The system was on but the fan wasn’t turning. There was a mild, burnt smell. The initial thought was that, of course the A/C would act up on a Friday with temperatures forecast for the 90s and three days of similar temperatures to follow.

The system was turned off. A call was made to the company that replaced the water heater last summer to see if a cooling system tech visit could be scheduled. Luckily, they could come today, and the 1:00 to 2:00 arrival window was scheduled.

The plan was to report to the office as scheduled, return home in the afternoon for the service call, and work remotely for the rest of the day. The office has A/C, which is usually so enthusiastic that several of us keep a sweater, jacket, or space heater handy. Enthusiastic A/C felt like a good thing today.

While attempting to drop a bill into the mailbox outside work, the cup tipped and spilled hot coffee all over my hand and the bill. On the approach to the mail slot I noticed the envelope lacked a stamp and pulled it back in time. Then I dropped and nearly lost the envelope to the elevator shaft as the doors closed, but I was able to snatch it while spilling more coffee on my hand.

Warm-ish.

The fourth floor suite was warm, humid, and stuffy. The thermostat near my desk read 83 degrees. With team member vacations, remote schedules, and an illness, I ended up being the only person in the office for the day. 

I learned from a colleague that the cooling system was out on Thursday and a service ticket had been submitted. This would have been valuable information to possess before dressing for the usual artic office conditions. At a minimum, I would have worn a short sleeve shirt in a breathable fabric. 

Having forgotten my lunch in the excitement of the home A/C scenario, a trip was required outdoors for food. My phone weather app read 85 degrees, but the gentle breeze made it feel much nicer than in the office. Almost refreshing, even.

At the house, the temp had crept up to 80, but it wasn't as humid as the downtown office. The A/C tech examined the patient and the capacitor inside the condenser was replaced. In less than an hour, cool air was restored at The BungaLowell. Miraculously, it didn’t cost a fortune, even before using the coupon for $50 off repairs that had recently arrived in the mail.

The tech finished at 2:15 and by 2:25, thunder was rumbling far enough away that at first I couldn’t tell if it was motorcycles or thunder. The thunder grew closer and louder and more dramatic. Twice, loud thunderclaps that seemed like they were directly over my little home office startled me out of my seat. Around 2:45, the skies opened with a torrential rain. The power and Internet stayed on and work tasks were accomplished or at least moved from my desk temporarily to the next step in the process. Progress was made on things that had been derailed by spontaneous and random brush fires and changing priorities all week.

The day was busy and hectic and exactly what was needed to crowd out the undercurrent to the day and the week of days leading up to today. It was one year ago today that we learned about my brother’s suicide. It’s still hard to think about and also hard not to. Thank goodness for work that usually crowds it out during the day and postpones the emotional meltdowns until the evening.