Brrrr!

Boy I was really looking forward to coming home and cranking up the heat in my apartment. It's unseasonably frigid, cold and probably unhealthy to be out in short pants but here I am cruising around the city in my shorts bundle up in my red jacket and Wishing I had my gloves and my muffler (is that the right word? For something that's worn around the neck having trouble with finding words right now must be the cold). I kind of wished I didn't have to go out today because it is so cold but my friend Lori wanted to have lunch at the college and that was the impetus I needed to strike out and find out what the outside was like for this winter. I'm trusting the suggested cold snap is a warm-up a little bit before the devastating cold days of January and February arrive but who knows in these days of climate change of what will be for one day the next.

With my upper half being warmed I was really not having too much of a problem being out in the elements. However, I did not want to wait at the bus stop even for a short time I opted to keep moving and rolled the short distance down to the community college. College is in full swing all of our favorite tables of been taken by the time I arrive and then Lori so we find someplace further away from the Windows than usual. But we have a good lunch, Lori is buying today, payment for my transcribing of one of her recent interviews. Hot coffee in the hot fish sandwich, which I didn't understand when I ordered but was good just the same. I was thinking it was fish and chips and not a fish burger. But I appreciated the protein just the same. Our time is short since Lori had to go on the clock and go to her job now is turned loose. I was tempted, strongly tempted to head back to the apartment crank up the heat enjoy the rest the afternoon dozing or straightening up my work area. But I been hankering to visit Spoons and the Spice a culinary store that's fun to wander through. I've used up all the (S) hooks I had purchased from the Internet and there was just the excuse I needed to set off towards the ninth East area. A bus trip, train trip and a further bus trip got me to IV place shopping area, possibly a trendy place at one time now it's kind of fallen in disarray but still interesting in its own light. I looked and looked for my culinary store finding none however I entered a establishment right that the store used to be and found a Russian grocery store!? I felt I had been transported to a science fiction short story. It seems the store I was searching for is been gone from that area for 10 or so years. It moved to better areas I should've known however I was relying on the Internet and Internet still listed the ninth East location. It was too cold to cry, my butt was beginning to hurt and I figured it was time to be heading home to my warm apartment.

The hour was getting relatively late in the afternoon. It was a little after four when I pulled in the door to my apartment pulled off my jacket. Of course coming in from the outside the apartment felt warm but I rolled over to the thermostat to turn the heat up. Read 69° which I thought was odd to know I left the setting at 72 thinking that was chilly enough then I saw I had actually left the thermostat at about 78° high enough to make most people uncomfortable but for me to enjoy during the winter.. Something was wrong. I fiddled with the thermostat and nothing happened. The temperature is stayed at 69° but have not heard the comforting sound of the furnace coming on. I should have immediately gone down to let management know but I didn't and now it's too late. The thermostat seems to be working kind of, well obviously not, there is a small sign indicating that it needs to batteries and maybe that's what it needs to turn the furnace back on am I grasping at straws? Most likely but I'm sure I can make it till tomorrow. Tomorrow's is going to be even worse than today with snow falling plus the extreme cold temperatures and I have to be out in the cold for my volunteer stuff and a rehab appointment. Hopefully tomorrow I'll come home to the tropics…