My whole life I looked forward to ditching the school uniform and being able to wear nice outfits for work. Boy was I wrong! Dressing for work is an absolute chore that I despise each morning. I think the most tricky part about it is that I never know what the temperature will be like in the office. On a hot day I’ll arrive wearing a nice skirt and a flowy blouse, only to end up shivering for most of the day because someone had the air conditioning cranked. All because there are certain colleagues in the office who can’t help but turn the air conditioning to freezer level, the air conditioning ended up dying and we had to book in for air conditioning servicing. In Canberra it can get super hot at times, so having a broken air conditioner is an absolute nightmare. I swear I could smell everyone’s sweat simply aerating around each other. Talk about the taste of bile creeping into your mouth!
It’s the same deal in winter. We dress for the winter breeze and wrap ourselves in overcoats, scarves, and turtle-necks only to have someone crack the heater because it’s cold outside. Suddenly we’re all dripping in sweat, but without the putrid scents of summer time body odour. Here I am thinking I’m going to enjoy a winter ‘cute girl’ outfit that I’ve spent months scowling the internet for inspiration on how to successfully put it together, only to find myself wanting to rip off my boots and cut the sleeves of my shirt. Of course, everyone’s constant need to adjust the heating led to the heating system carking it. Honesty, I think I preferred having no heater. At least when there’s no heater you can add more clothes to get warm.
After about a week of having no heater, the administration team booked heating repairs. Canberra might have the power to get hot, but it also has the power to get unbearably cold. Unfortunately, this repair meant I had to return to my sweltering. I will admit, the warm air was so comforting when I felt stressed.