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How to not freeze...
15 years ago
General
So, many people who have been reading my journals recently are probably aware that my boyfriend Jon and I moved from our apartment to a bedroom in my parents house as a temporary measure. Our lease was up and I am currently unemployed and looking for work. Living here will give me a few benefits. The opportunity to look anywhere then move, so I am not stuck trying to find employment close to where I am contracted to pay rent. A place to live where we can pay less rent than the apartment we were in. And, a chance to spend some time with my family more often than once a week for laundry.
However, living here does have one disadvantage worth mentioning. My dad has been in the process of fixing and remodeling the house since they bought it before I was born, and I am 31 now. The bathroom in the comfortably warm upstairs still has the old clawfoot bath tub, which leaks water into the front hall any time water goes down the drain. (they even keep a little bucket in it to keep any potential drips from going down through the drain.) So, the only place to get clean is the shower in the basement. The basement is unfinished, and the temperature in the winter near the shower is usually between 50-60 degrees. That's not fun when you are wet! So, there's a little space heater. But that doesn't do much. The 'bathroom' in the basement is pretty much part of the laundry area. On one wall, there is the washer and dryer and large 2-basin laundry sink. Right next to the sink is the toilet and the shower next to it. There are no nice little walls around the bathroom area to keep some heat in. basically, if someone's down there to use the shower or toilet, people shouldn't come to the basement cause once you get to the bottom of the stairs and turn around, you are facing the toilet & shower.
So, I have developed a few tricks to make the freezing shower area a little less unpleasant. Since the laundry area is there, I try to have laundry going and run the dryer when I am in the shower. I put the cloting I will put on when I am done on top of the dryer to get a little warm. but, it's cold, I am not wasting time getting dressed down there. I put my nightshirt on to go down and then put it back on when I am done. I don't care if it gets wet, and I put clothes on when I get to the warm upstairs.
Oh well, things could be MUCH worse. I am happy here and finally get a chance to kind of relax and that helps me think about my goal of finding a job. One place I interviewed is still deciding and plans to choose candidates and get background checks in the next few weeks and then call people. There are multiple positions open because of an addition to the work of the department so I am really feeling good about it. There were a few setbacks that I discovered after the interview about my performance but I think I made things work ok. i forgot to write down the names of the other 2 people I interviewed with. I called the one person whose name I did have to ask for the names and she called me back and left a message only hours after I sent a letter a few days late cause I had been waiting for a call back to thank for the interview. So, I wrote 2 more separate letters to the other people ASAP. I didn't know where to park when I got there and ended up walking a short distance to the building. It was cold and I ended up with my nose being a bit uncomfortable during the interview cause of the cold I was getting over. The worst thing, in my opinion, was when I changed out of my suit, I found the seam had split right up the back of my pants, so it would give a nice view of my underwear. My mom mentioned that a polite woman would mention to another if they noticed so that you would cover the problem before going outside. It's also possible that it happend after the interview on getting into or out of my car. I guess I will never know. At least mom's pretty skilled with the sewing machine so I know she can fix it.
Anyway, I kind of went off of my original topic and wrote more than I expected to write but all is ok. One more bonus thing is that they like me so much at my part time 'seasonal' job that they decided to keep me working a couple days a week. It's not much, but every dollar helps. Plus, at least it shows that I am not lazy, I do have a job, it's just not full time.
However, living here does have one disadvantage worth mentioning. My dad has been in the process of fixing and remodeling the house since they bought it before I was born, and I am 31 now. The bathroom in the comfortably warm upstairs still has the old clawfoot bath tub, which leaks water into the front hall any time water goes down the drain. (they even keep a little bucket in it to keep any potential drips from going down through the drain.) So, the only place to get clean is the shower in the basement. The basement is unfinished, and the temperature in the winter near the shower is usually between 50-60 degrees. That's not fun when you are wet! So, there's a little space heater. But that doesn't do much. The 'bathroom' in the basement is pretty much part of the laundry area. On one wall, there is the washer and dryer and large 2-basin laundry sink. Right next to the sink is the toilet and the shower next to it. There are no nice little walls around the bathroom area to keep some heat in. basically, if someone's down there to use the shower or toilet, people shouldn't come to the basement cause once you get to the bottom of the stairs and turn around, you are facing the toilet & shower.
So, I have developed a few tricks to make the freezing shower area a little less unpleasant. Since the laundry area is there, I try to have laundry going and run the dryer when I am in the shower. I put the cloting I will put on when I am done on top of the dryer to get a little warm. but, it's cold, I am not wasting time getting dressed down there. I put my nightshirt on to go down and then put it back on when I am done. I don't care if it gets wet, and I put clothes on when I get to the warm upstairs.
Oh well, things could be MUCH worse. I am happy here and finally get a chance to kind of relax and that helps me think about my goal of finding a job. One place I interviewed is still deciding and plans to choose candidates and get background checks in the next few weeks and then call people. There are multiple positions open because of an addition to the work of the department so I am really feeling good about it. There were a few setbacks that I discovered after the interview about my performance but I think I made things work ok. i forgot to write down the names of the other 2 people I interviewed with. I called the one person whose name I did have to ask for the names and she called me back and left a message only hours after I sent a letter a few days late cause I had been waiting for a call back to thank for the interview. So, I wrote 2 more separate letters to the other people ASAP. I didn't know where to park when I got there and ended up walking a short distance to the building. It was cold and I ended up with my nose being a bit uncomfortable during the interview cause of the cold I was getting over. The worst thing, in my opinion, was when I changed out of my suit, I found the seam had split right up the back of my pants, so it would give a nice view of my underwear. My mom mentioned that a polite woman would mention to another if they noticed so that you would cover the problem before going outside. It's also possible that it happend after the interview on getting into or out of my car. I guess I will never know. At least mom's pretty skilled with the sewing machine so I know she can fix it.
Anyway, I kind of went off of my original topic and wrote more than I expected to write but all is ok. One more bonus thing is that they like me so much at my part time 'seasonal' job that they decided to keep me working a couple days a week. It's not much, but every dollar helps. Plus, at least it shows that I am not lazy, I do have a job, it's just not full time.
