Saturday, November 22, 2008

Brrrrr

My nose is cold all the time, I feel like a dog.  My fingers and toes fare little better.  I'm wearing three layers and long socks.

Since these frigid temperatures took hold last weekend, cold air has been streaming through the air-conditioning unit in the living room window.  (It should have a cover.)  Somehow my roomie claims this has never been a problem before (!).  I am not into hermetically sealed houses and am usually the one that keeps a window cracked open in winter to allow oxygenation, but when you have the radiator next to the window at full heat and the room is still cold, then something needs to be done.

Thankfully my room is the warmest, in fact a little too warm, but I do think that the bowl of water on my radiator contributes to the general comfort of my room.  It is attached to the living room, so I leave the doors open in the day so that some heat can flow into the living room.  But I suspect it's too scared to come out.

In the summer, you cannot possibly conceive of winter's coldness, so even if only 2 of 5 rooms have functioning radiators you assume they are going to spread their warmth comfortably around the house, as long as the windows are closed.  No such luck...

I know this is an old house, but surely winterproofing is not too much to ask, since the landladies only live downstairs and they can't be all cold round the edges.  This reminds me of growing up in our old house in London, which was draughty through the original leaded window panes.  Memories of my mother plastered against radiators, yet she always hung up on double glazing telemarketers.  We were all for authenticity, back then.

Then we moved to Texas, leaving behind our turn of the century Tudor style house.  We moved into a cozy modern townhouse, followed by a fairly luxurious new colonial style home with nary a draught, well finished in every corner.  Needless to say, my standards went up.

I like original features, but I think from now on I should choose new constructions...or at least very well refurbished old places rather than merely maintained ones.  Comfort AND authenticity in one place.

End of Rant.

I have another thing to whine about, but that's for later.

I've made my bed really cosy, redraping the swagged voile to completely enclose the top and sides, like a room within a room.



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By the way, this week I applied to a couple of cool jobs in another major city south of NYC.  It had been my original intention to job hunt up and down the eastern seaboard while staying with my cousin, using NYC as a base but setting a time limit on my sojourn here.  However, when I was forced to find my own accommodations this changed slightly and I focused only on the local area.  Now that the economy has worsened and I haven't heard back from anyone, it's back to plan A:  expand the search and go wherever the job is rather than forcing it out of just one place.

Time for me to go off and meet my friend Denise for a pizza dinner followed by dessert in the comfort of her home.  It's on the Upper West Side so I need plenty of time to get there, especially on a weekend.

16 comments:

Carol said...

yikes, that sounds cold! you're braver than I am for venturing out in it!!

meimei said...

I love yur bed liv! Well its still mild here, there was a huge storm up in the maritimes, but I hope we don't get it here. I like the mild temp

CafeMark said...

Good luck with the job hunt. Times are getting hard, but all these "measures" the politicians are taking must create some jobs somewhere. Hope you can get somewhere close to your current abode. Regards...

Anonymous said...

It's cold, dark and snowing here in London this morning! I've lived and worked in cold buildings so know just how you feel.
Good luck with the job hunting! xx

meimei said...

hey hon, got you featured on my blog

Olivia said...

Carol - apparently, that's what you have to do when you live in it ;)

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Mich - yes, very cozy. And I'll be right over to check out your post.

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Mark - as long as there are job listings, there are jobs. The trick is to get someone to actually call you back...

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Flighty - no way! We've still had none of the threatened snow. I noticed that it snowed every one of the six years I last lived in London, yet in the 12 years I lived there as a child it probably only snowed twice. xx

Glo said...

Brrr is right! Being outside in the cold is one thing, but living inside with it is not cool...;) I found a link that might offer some solutions for you as it seems to be a question that others need answers to as well.
Here's the link: http://ask.metafilter.com/63186/Window-air-conditioners-and-winter-how-do-they-mix

Your bedroom looks femininely lovely :) Good luck with the job hunt and I'm sure you enjoyed the dinner with your friend!

PS how do you manage to blog so well with your gloves on...j/k

Selba said...

It's so warm down here in Jakarta, wanna swap? LOL

Good luck for your job hunting *crossing fingers*

The Moody Minstrel said...

[smug grin]
Hum dee dum dee dum...

Here in beautiful (flat) Ibaraki Prefecture the temperature only just finally dropped below 15 degrees Centigrade (59 degrees Fahrenheit) last week.

La dee da dum dum doo wah...

Still lots of flowers...with honeybees to boot!

Hmm hmm hmm...la la la...

Of course, this probably means we're going to have either massive snow and ice in January or a serious water shortage next year. Agriculture could be taking a pounding along with the stock markets and banks, etc..

La doo WHEEEE....eee...*?

[/smug grin]
[look of horror]

Anonymous said...

It wouldn't seem like So Cal could ever get drafty and damp and cold, but I rented a house that, until the drought ended with record rains, the owner didn't know there was a major roof leak. And that the heating system didn't work. Of course, the insulation was nonexistent. So very often, the temps indoors were at least as cold as the temps outside. Anyway, many good wishes on the job hunt.

Anonymous said...

I sympathise on the cold - it's been freezing and hailstoney here today. I hope you get good news from those jobs you've applied too!

Rick Rockhill said...

Ok, seriosuly you need to be in a warmer climate than NY!

On another note, I'll be in NYC Dece 14, 15 and 16...let's plan something. I'll be staying at the Waldorf if you want to come for tea...

Um Naief said...

ooohhhh, i hate the cold, when it's that cold! :) hope you're staying warm.

love the bed...

i was hoping that the job search would go better and it wasn't as bad as ppl were saying, but i heard this morning that obama says that the country will be going thru a recession. hope the job search in the surrounding areas fares better than what you're experiencing in NYC.

keep warm!!

Olivia said...

Glo - thanks for the link. Chicago winters are truly brutal. Thankfully in NYC we're now closer to our normal November temps of 10C+ this week and I'm fine :)

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Selby - ah yes but I remember you told me it was very polluted!

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Minstrel - hello, what?

Anyway, that weather sounds lovely :)

But a water shortage leading to drought in the state of the economy is not a welcome development...

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Nikki - sounds more like a shed than a house! And indeed, only in the most tropical of climates can you live in those.

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Pete - still no news, time for followup, though two days before Thanksgiving is not a great time to expect anything from anyone.

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Rick - yay! Tea with you again! Wait, that's twice in the same year in two countries - amazing.

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Um Naief - oof, yes I heard on the news today about the state of the city's economy. Transport is suffering already due to budget deficits which called for service cuts. Woop de doo.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

The draped voile reminds me of those colonial style homes in the Caribbean. Not that I've ever actually seen one, but in those fancy Caribbean lifestyle magasines. Lovely.

Oh man, if I had to choose between extreme heat [the kind we had here recently] or extreme cold I wouldn't know which one to choose.

Anonymous said...

Oh Liv, your post made me laugh. Makes me remember being cold to the bone in Brussels. I hope you are finding ways to be more comfortable. I confess, an old Tudor-style home sounds wonderful but being chilled doesn't. I hope you will find a good position before long too.