This past week in the Dallas/Fort Worth area it has been a cold one. Temperatures are in the teens! Maybe you are from up North and scoff at that but for most of us Texans, it’s pretty chilly.
My coworkers used to seeing me in shorts year round, have seen me start wearing long sleeve shorts. AKA pants. This has caused quite a stir around the office. Now that my ankles are covered and I’m leaving a little to the imagination there is some allure.
What has got me excited though, is my electric company gave a challenge that if from Midnight to Noon you could keep your kilowatt usage under 8kWh they would give me $15. For each of the three days. And if you make that for all three days you get an extra $30. So a potential to win $75 in total.
I looked at what kilowatts I normally spend per day and it was anywhere from 14kWh to 4kWh. So I figured I could do a half day pretty easily.
Sunday night I set my thermostat to 60° and unplugged everything I could think of. I layered on blankets and lights out.
I woke up the next morning freezing and not wanting to get out from under the covers. My coworkers and I were texting wondering if we should go in since it snowed the night before. As we all work with computers and have the same setup as we have with the office, there isn’t a real reason to go in other than the camaraderie.
With many of the previous freezes and snow days, I would go in.
One coworker sent an email to our boss and the group and another replied he would also be staying so I thirded the fact there was no reason to brave the roads and I would also be staying home. My laptop had a full charge so I wouldn’t need to use any juice to use it.
Later my boss called and said he was driving down the roads at 70 miles per hour and didnt see what the fuss was about. I somewhat regretted my choice to stay home because though it was a nice change of pace, it was freezing until noon and I have a space heater under my desk that would have felt great!
Also, the hot water hasn’t been so hot lately. Usually, it’s scalding. Monday and Tuesday I let the shower run, thinking it would warm up in time. Realizing it would only get lukewarm, I would dive in and take a little whoresbath, just face and privates, before I would jump out and warm up. This morning I had some warmish water and I stayed under for much longer. It was luxurious.
Whether in heat or cold, my thoughts would go to my time spent in Hawai’i. During the winter it was a brisk 78° compared to the summer when it would get up to 85°.
The coldest I felt was on the Big Island when I went to Kīlauea. Staying out all night to see the lava, I felt like I was freezing and checked the temperature and it was only 65°.
Here is to warmer days ahead.
