My room, the meat freezer

[greybeta]

To fill my new friends on some of my background, I blame my scheming roommate for bringing me to Tulsa (I actually blame him for a lot of things). We roomed together our freshman year, took a semester off, and roomed together the second semester of our sophomore year. We enjoy each other's company so much we're rooming again this year. Heck, we'll probably be roommates next year.

So I've gotten to know this guy quite a bit. But I can talk about that later. I feel a bit whimsical so I want to share the daily battle we have. And that's controlling the temperature of the room. When you have two human beings living together in the same space, the odds of them having the same preferences in regards to temperature is small. In the case of my scheming roommate and I, we are polar opposites.

Part of the reason is just pure physics, i.e. he has significantly more mass than I do.

I want it warm, like a nice autumn day. Better hot than cold, my mom always says. I don't want get sick in my own room.

He wants it cold, like a meat freezer. He claims it helps him sleep. I can always add extra layers if I'm cold, but he can't take much off if it's too hot. But there's something wrong when I'm wearing sweaters to sleep in August.

I'm happy when it's winter, cause that means there's only heat. Oh, but wait, my scheming roommate will just open the window to cool down things. Brrrrr.

When I walk into the room, I seek the make the room warmer. When he walks in, he seeks to make the room colder. I fight a losing battle, however, since he is physically superior to me.

Does anyone else have this sort of battle?

Comments

[moocowrich.livejournal.com]

When I had a roommate, we both preferred the meat freezer. Mmm...cold...

That might have something to do with both of us being from the upper midwest. I'm not sure.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Naw, I'm pretty sure my roommate would fit right in with ya guys. I guess I forgot to mention the fact that I'm Asian, and there are no winters where I come from.

[moocowrich.livejournal.com]

Winter hasn't really hit Wisconsin for years. It's been mostly above zero...sadness. How many will complain about that? Not enough.

[kimmaline.livejournal.com]

My aunt would beg to differ with you. She lives in Dunbar (way north, past Green Bay) and are usually in about seven or so feet of snow...for about eight months out of the year. :)

[moocowrich.livejournal.com]

I wish that snow would travel south a bit. We've had something like a quarter of an inch all year. I'll take seven feet.

[visgoth.livejournal.com]

I was in Luck (up by Rice Lake) just last week. It was below zero, with a couple inches on the ground.

[moocowrich.livejournal.com]

Those lucky bastards...

[kimmaline.livejournal.com]

I'm sure she could use someone to shovel out her car...want me to see if you can go and stay with her??? :)

[moocowrich.livejournal.com]

If I weren't going to Michigan this weekend, I might take you up on that offer.

[kimmaline.livejournal.com]

My fight is just as bad, D. I not only PREFER it to be a bit warm, I NEED it to be. Nothing in the world bugs a nerve injury like the cold...so if I am not warm enough I am in a major amount of discomfort. project1half seems to vary as to how much he is willing to work with me on this. The beginning of the winter, he was all about being supportive, and actually said to me, "your pain level is too important to ignore." A couple of power bills later (this place holds in about as much heat as french lingerie) he is swearing we are going to starve to death if we don't turn the heat down.

The problem, at least part of it, I believe lies in our thermostat. To keep it barely warm enough to be comfortable at night, it is roasting here in the day. I don't understand it, the thermostat's job is to keep it a relatively constant temp...but it never works out that way.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Thermostats can lie, depending where they measure the temperature. At least it feels that way in my house.

[kimmaline.livejournal.com]

I would agree with you....except that at night it feels too cold, and during the day it feels too warm...and we aren't adjusting it at all.

[visgoth.livejournal.com]

Does anyone else have this sort of battle?

Yes. Sort of. But not over temperature.

I try to make my workplace processes smarter and more efficient, and one of my co-workers seeks to make them more stupid and wasteful. I am destined to lose, because I am a contractor and he is a government employee.

Oh, and I don't consider him a friend, so that's a bit different too.

[visgoth.livejournal.com]

(But temperature-wise, he and I both agree that the office is too dang hot.)

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Hopefully one day I'll be in the position to determine where the thermostat is.

[cheesentoast.livejournal.com]

Very much so! I am one of Earth's permanently cold people. I need heat! I once had an... um, friend, that really got quite ill when it was too warm. I'd turn the heat up and a little while later he'd say, "are you trying to kill me?"

Just one of many things that were opposites with us. I no longer see him.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Funny, my roommate also claims I'm trying to kill him when I turn the heat up.

[paranoidgrl.livejournal.com]

How warm is warm? I'm a cold person. My thermostat doesn't go about 68 in the winter, and I'll turn it down when I go to bed. I actually get sick from the dry heat put out by central heat; my sinus' and allergies go nuts and I have to leave humidifiers running to offset it.

I'm having this fight in my office right now. I walked into the building this morning, and someone had turned the heat up to 80. No.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

80 is ridiculous. I could do about 70, although I'd say I'd prefer it somewhere between 70-75.

[tu-oboe-girl.livejournal.com]

Rachael and I do ok at school. It's at home that is a problem. My mom likes to keep the house at like 68 degrees, which to me is freezing. *shivers*

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. Sometimes my dad likes to keep the house at 65.