- Jul 12, 2007
- 6,211
- 121
- 106
My 81 year old dad is visiting from the Czech republic, which is great. He goes back to CZ on Friday, which sucks.
Last Friday night my Aunt (who is 75), informed me that she would be coming to visit (from across the country) this past Monday, and that she would be staying at our place. She said she wanted to see my dad before he leaves, so of course I agreed despite the short notice and the fact that she moves as though she is carrying 1000lbs on her back at all times.
Given that my father is occupying the one guest room (i.e., my wife's office) that we have, we set my Aunt up in our finished basement. In the summer the basement is often the most comfortable place in the house, as it stays nice and cool at 68 degrees when the rest of the house is roasting (we lack central AC).
Anyway my Aunt arrives hunky dorry, we have dinner the first night she is here, then she wants to go to bed. My wife and I get her set up, and call it a night ourselves.
Fast forward to the next morning. I go down in the basement to get something from my office and immediately notice something is wrong. The basement is HOT. As in hot as the pit of hell. Not to mention it smells like a stable that has not been mucked out in two weeks. Despite the onslaught of putrid odor and foul heat I venture downstairs to discover that the thermstat in my basement is set to 90 degrees F. Yes, NINETY! Cursing under my breath I turn it down to 75, a more "reasonable" number despite the fact that we are experiencing some of the hottest days of the year in the Seacoast of NH. I get the stuff from the Office, flee to the (surprisingly cooler) upstairs, and go to work.
That afternoon I come home to find the house empty. My aunt and father have apparently gone gallavanting around town in my truck, which is fine. What is not fine is that I discover that my basement thermostat is, AGAIN, set to ninety friggin degrees (which happens to be the exact same as the temperature outside). Not only that but the lights and TV are on, with the volume blasting. I asked my Aunt about it and she said that she "could not figure out" how to turn off the TV (i.e., push the power button on the remote), and that she was sorry about not turning down the thermostat when they left at 10:30 that morning! I told her not to worry, all the while coveting the day my utility bill will arrive next month, informing me that I have a $350 electric bill from heating my basement to near braising temperatures - with no one there to appreciate the sauna-esque heat.
I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that my basement has not dipped below 85 degrees for the last 4 days, leaving me with no reprieve from the scourge of the summer sun and no comfortable place to work from home. As a result I have been driven from my home office to work from my firm's Office (which is located 50 miles away), only to come home to my Aunt complaining about how she misses me and wishes I was around more. To which. I can only say. ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TLDR - Aunt visited on two days notice and is trying to simulate the fires of hell in OPS basement, during the hottest days of year so far. THe heat drove OP from his home office to his work office. Now aunt is complaining that OP is not around to spend time with her.
Last Friday night my Aunt (who is 75), informed me that she would be coming to visit (from across the country) this past Monday, and that she would be staying at our place. She said she wanted to see my dad before he leaves, so of course I agreed despite the short notice and the fact that she moves as though she is carrying 1000lbs on her back at all times.
Given that my father is occupying the one guest room (i.e., my wife's office) that we have, we set my Aunt up in our finished basement. In the summer the basement is often the most comfortable place in the house, as it stays nice and cool at 68 degrees when the rest of the house is roasting (we lack central AC).
Anyway my Aunt arrives hunky dorry, we have dinner the first night she is here, then she wants to go to bed. My wife and I get her set up, and call it a night ourselves.
Fast forward to the next morning. I go down in the basement to get something from my office and immediately notice something is wrong. The basement is HOT. As in hot as the pit of hell. Not to mention it smells like a stable that has not been mucked out in two weeks. Despite the onslaught of putrid odor and foul heat I venture downstairs to discover that the thermstat in my basement is set to 90 degrees F. Yes, NINETY! Cursing under my breath I turn it down to 75, a more "reasonable" number despite the fact that we are experiencing some of the hottest days of the year in the Seacoast of NH. I get the stuff from the Office, flee to the (surprisingly cooler) upstairs, and go to work.
That afternoon I come home to find the house empty. My aunt and father have apparently gone gallavanting around town in my truck, which is fine. What is not fine is that I discover that my basement thermostat is, AGAIN, set to ninety friggin degrees (which happens to be the exact same as the temperature outside). Not only that but the lights and TV are on, with the volume blasting. I asked my Aunt about it and she said that she "could not figure out" how to turn off the TV (i.e., push the power button on the remote), and that she was sorry about not turning down the thermostat when they left at 10:30 that morning! I told her not to worry, all the while coveting the day my utility bill will arrive next month, informing me that I have a $350 electric bill from heating my basement to near braising temperatures - with no one there to appreciate the sauna-esque heat.
I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that my basement has not dipped below 85 degrees for the last 4 days, leaving me with no reprieve from the scourge of the summer sun and no comfortable place to work from home. As a result I have been driven from my home office to work from my firm's Office (which is located 50 miles away), only to come home to my Aunt complaining about how she misses me and wishes I was around more. To which. I can only say. ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TLDR - Aunt visited on two days notice and is trying to simulate the fires of hell in OPS basement, during the hottest days of year so far. THe heat drove OP from his home office to his work office. Now aunt is complaining that OP is not around to spend time with her.
Last edited:
Facebook
Twitter