Let There Be Heat
I always say, "there is never a dull day at the wood (Atwood)." For those who don't know or need a reminder, Atwood is the name of the unit that I am housed in here at FMC Lexington Satellite Camp.
Atwood is very old; it was built in the 1930s. It is riddled with issues including poor heating and water systems, inadequate installation, faulty windows and doors, lead paint, and asbestos, just to name of few. Aesthetically, the building resembles an old college dorm; an upkept one. You can walk through the halls and peer into rooms to see trash bags over windows to keep the cold air out, peeling paint from walls, sanitary pads around doors, or the glass of windows painted to block light. This once condemned by the state building is not suitable for habitation and needs to be closed. However, the federal government stands to loose a substantial amount of money by doing so. A few weeks ago we were challenged with water issues; today it was heat.
Over the past few days, Kentucky has been met with an artic blast. Snow still remains on the ground as temperatures have not reached highs enough to melt it. Nightly, we are met with below freezing numbers. I am luckily enough that my room has semi operable windows and a functional radiator. That still does not guard me against the cold found in the common areas, hallways, and bathrooms.
Upon completing my morning workout, I returned to my room to take a bath only to discover that there was no hot water. When I attempted to put my lunch, a pizza pocket that I made - yeah me! - on the oven (radiator), I noticed that there was no heat. This was shortly after 10 am. I quickly found out that the problem would be anticipated to persist until at least 3 pm. 3 pm turned into 4 pm. 4 pm turned into, "no one knows."
With the temperatures expected to reach 20 degrees throughout the night, my bunkie and I decided to keep our door closed as much as possible in an attempt to keep the heat we had inside. And before retreating to bed, we layered ourselves in clothing and extra blankets. We were preparing for the worse. We kept the heat turned on, in hopes that it would return while we slept.
Around 11 pm, in the middle of our nightly "pillow talk," we heard the "click, click" sound, an indicator of an operable heater. I put my ear to the radiator and witnessed a hiss, another good sign. Within minutes the pipes began to warm and then THERE WAS HEAT! Thank goodness. Needless to say, after removing my extra sweat pants, sweat shirt, knitted socks, extra top sheet and blanket, I retreated to bed for a comfortable night's sleep. Of course I had to go email my mama first to let her know. LOL! #BigBarb #MyDay1
