Yikes! I can easily forget what it’s like to be in places where you can’t control the air conditioning. I spend my days in an office — but my office is in my home. I only have to negotiate with my husband and daughters (and our daughters don’t live here very often any more).
For instance, I love to sleep with air conditioning AND a ceiling fan humming above (I feel like I’m in the movie Casablanca) but lately I’ve noticed that my eyes get too dry and I wake up feeling like there are spikes in my eyes (diagnosed with Sjogren’s several years ago). So I turn off the fan. Easy.
I’m too cold from the a-c — (I have Reynaud’s and my hands will turn blue) — I just turn it warmer. Too hot for the MS? Turn the a-c colder.
But today I remembered all the years of working in someone else’s office. I started my day, freezing in a doctor’s office. It was in the medical building of a hospital and they explained that they can’t control the temperature.My hands turned blue and my eyes became dry and uncomfortable. I’m thinking, I’m only here for 30 minutes. What about the people who work here?
I went from there to a small office for a business appointment — and the air conditioning wasn’t working! Now, I felt like mud. From there, I had a meeting in an office, downtown. That meant parking my car in a parking garage that is quite hot, walking in the heat– only to get to another very cold office.
I was very grateful when I got to my own office. But humbled to remember how hard it is to: Keep Working, My Friend!
Rosalind
Jennifer says
For several months the AC in my work area was malfunctioning and I felt like I was going to pass out. When I commented to a male coworker about it he implied that it must be a female issue …I was so offended. Now of course they’ve fixed the problem and our office is an icebox. It’s 100 degrees outside and I’m wearing a sweater.
My boyfriend had to show me his electrical bill “so I’d know what he was willing to do to make sure I’m comfortable.” I think his intention was good, but the delivery of the message was all wrong.
Rosalind says
Jennifer – not sure from your comment but I’m assuming you can’t tolerated heat because of MS. Does your co-worker know this? And does he know that MS is the reason it’s tough for you? Even if he does, people can’t understand what this feels like – they just think you’re hot. That said, I think air conditioning in office buildings is primitive — can’t we do something about this? And as for your boyfriend’s message, I know what you mean. I know that my own skin is really thin with these comments.
Rosalind