random thoughts – Day 1,730 – (Wednesday) – cold and balmy

Rain was promised. Rain came. It was accompanied by the gray cloud cover that carries the rain (obviously) and fog that provided a mysterious quality to the air. Because of the rain, the parking garage had the indoor water feature activated and the usual massive puddles in place.

The volume of rainfall varied throughout the day from barely a mist floating in the air to heavy like a fire hose on full blast. The forecast also called for potential thunderstorms and hazardous wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour later in the day and into the night and National Grid sent out a message on Tuesday about preparing for storms. 

At the office, when it was around 36 degrees outside earlier in the day, for reasons beyond all comprehension of any of the occupants of the fourth-floor suite, the air cooling system was on. Again. In anticipation, I had dressed in what I thought might be overkill with a base layer, merino wool pullover sweater, and a cardigan. It wasn't excessive and I was cold. Removing the cardigan layer was never a consideration.

Condensation
on John Street.

Even the facilities team is puzzled by this recurring air cooling situation. We are unable to change the setting from cool to heat, so my solution was to boost the temperature setting to 78 degrees to at least stop the chilled air from blowing down on us from the overhead ductwork. Some colleagues had their heaters going under their desks, just like all summer.

By the time we left work, the temperature had risen to 60 balmy degrees outside (also forecasted). That's normal for New England in December, right? A light rain fell in the warm air and downtown windows were covered in foggy condensation.

Outside the parking garage, it was possible to enjoy the balmy outside air and also the feel of refrigerated air that emanated from the entrance/exit of the garage. It was interesting and odd and reminded me of standing at the mouth of Dunbar Cave in Clarksville Tennessee in the hot and humid summer weather. Inside the garage, the temperature was significantly cooler than out on the street.

One of many conversations at the office today was about feeling dehydrated in the winter and how hard it is to hydrate. I prefer drinking chilled water, but I’m already too cold in the winter to drink chilled water. I usually end up nuking mugs of tea all night long. Or just not. 

Tonight, as I reached into the cabinet for the usual eight or ten ounce coffee cup for my evening Raspberry Zinger tea, I spotted a solution, right there in front of my face. A glass beer mug. Duh!

Raspberry Zinger
in a big mug.

A couple big beer mugs have resided in the same cabinet as the smaller coffee mugs for the entire time I’ve lived here. There are a few more that permanently live in the refrigerator due to space and the idea of pouring beer into a chilled mug (which I never think to do). Once or twice, I used a big mug for a slightly elaborate hot cocoa with whipped cream and some whiskey. 

Until tonight, it never occurred to me use a big beer mug for a larger pour of tea. There have been some ripple effects. On one hand, I need fewer trips to the kitchen to refill and heat smaller mugs of tea. On the other hand, I just cut my nighttime activity level in half. Life is all about tradeoffs.