When I was younger, I didn’t really think so hard about how much a faulty HVAC unit can really ruin your day.
- I guess I took good HVAC for granted.
My parents were always faithful to maintain our HVAC unit so that we could rely on it throughout the year. It took until my senior year in high school before I had an experience where I had to say to myself afterwards, “Lack of air conditioning ruined everything!” It was prom night. I managed to find a date, which was no small feat for a nerd such as myself. In all seriousness, there was a clear unspoken understanding that this was going to be a platonic experience between good friends. Except it turned out to be an entirely bad experience. The school’s air conditioning unit crapped out at the absolute worst possible time. The people putting on the prom night were very upfront with us about the freak accident. There was simply no time to repair the air conditioning before the event, and they did not want to cancel after all the hard work they put in. Initially, we could appreciate that. However, as the night drew on, me and my “date” became more and more miserable. We were both chugging down punch, but couldn’t quite cool off, and took turns going to the bathroom. Initially, I was nervous about the prospect of dancing, but I soon found I didn’t need to be. There were a few hardy couples on the dance floor giving it their best shot, but my friend made it clear there was no way we were even going to attempt it in this heat. Finally, we both decided that if we wanted to enjoy ourselves for a night, that we could do it elsewhere!