sophiaserpentia | (no subject)

One of the worst things, IMO and IME, about living in New England, is the puritan ethic against air conditioning.

It was 94º in Cambridge today. In the South, when it reaches 94º -- no problemo, we got air conditioning! We'll just crank that sucker up and you'll be comfy in no time.

Here? It's like there's a pathological hatred of A/C. Everyone *has* it, they just don't like to use it. I guess they think sweltering is good for the soul. I spent a whole day in my office sweltering, for no good reason that i could discern, only to leave the office and climb on a bus which was... also sweltering, for no good reason. I know they have A/C in both my office building and in all the buses, because in the past on some occasions they have actually used them. But never consistently. I wonder if people here use A/C and then feel like they have to pray for their sins at confessional next week. Even moving air seems to be an indulgence.

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I don't like AC because I think it's usually set to be WAY too cold, and I don't adjust well to moving between really hot and really cold environments (this actually made me sick a couple summers ago, when I went from no AC and 100+ weather for a month to a hotel for a weekend). Hate New England winter for the same reason, the buildings are always overheated. But I think a lot of the time the temperature in offices and public transport is set based on calendar date, so when there's an early heat wave or cold snap it can take a week or more to catch on.

This is a legitimate complaint. A bus or office doesn't need to be as cold as a meat locker. Just, you know, cooler than "wiping sweat from my forehead while trying to sit in my cube and work" temperature.