Be sure to pack a jacket. And a parka. And maybe a pair of shorts. It’s the strangest time of year to be an Ohioan: Autumn. And you just don’t know what to expect, either outdoors or indoors.
On Friday night, my family and I sat comfortably for two quarters of a football game wearing jeans and T-shirts for the second-to-last game of the year. It must be global warming, right?
But last year at about the same time of the year, we recalled it being rainy and cold. Must be global cooling, right?
As I like to say, if you don’t like the weather in Ohio, wait five minutes. But what happens when that inconsistency follows you indoors?
That’s been the fun inside our office lately. Our heating and cooling system seemed to forget how to keep up with Ohio’s erratic weather as it glitched recently. That meant coming in to work some mornings with an indoor temperature below the outdoor temperature, or roughly low enough to hang a side of beef in my office.
I’m typically not a person who gets cold, but I found my teeth chattering one morning, even after I put a sweatshirt on over my shirt and tie just to stay comfortable. My keyboard seemed to click louder, perhaps from breaking the ice off the edges.
The next day, I’d wise up and wear something from my winter wardrobe. Surprise! It’s summer again inside, with temperatures in the high 70s. My poor sinuses didn’t know whether it was time for a winter cold or a summer one.
As someone with a few extra pounds on me, heat doesn’t do me any favors, quickly turning to sweat and general discomfort.
I kept joking around the office that the first one in should send out a weather report for everyone else so we could dress appropriately. Only one person clearly understood it was a joke, while several suggested it was a good idea, especially since I usually beat them into the office.
Luckily some professionals got hold of our heating and cooling system and fixed it up right. Everything’s back in order, so we can return to complaining about people ignoring Ohio Sunshine Laws instead of the unpredictable climate. I’ve never been so appreciative to see 71 on a thermometer as I had the last several days. It’s like living on some comfortable, predictable tropical island, including knowing the chance of rain is extremely low.
I acknowledge how lucky I am to get to work indoors in the first place. There are far too many people who really do have to work in the elements. It’s a reminder of how lucky we are to have indoor jobs in the first place, even if the indoors do feel like the outdoors sometimes.
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