FROM LITTLE ACORNS....!

 ....And just like that, summer is over!  Perhaps not quite over, but the skies turned an angry shade of purple, the thunder rolled, and the much needed rain poured down, skipping across the ground like a performance of River Dance, and the temperatures dropped by about twelve degrees.  Going to a high of 93 may not, in some circles, seem to be relief, especially as England were experiencing temperatures of nearing 90, but when the day before has been 106, it is bliss!

I have had a short sabbatical.  Sometimes, 'life' gets in the way, and routines are altered to where sitting down and writing a somewhat frivolous account of my week becomes an 'extra' rather than a 'must'. Work has been extremely hectic, as mentioned previously, and time has not been my friend!

With a modicum of effort, I have managed to get back into my usual routine, and here am I, typing with a renewed zeal and hoping that despite the various degrees of mayhem being left behind me, I will find something of interest, amusement or just sheer frivolity to put down on this blank page.

Unfortunately, the highlight, or lowlight as it happens, of the last few weeks, was that the air conditioning failed in the office.  Upon arriving on the Wednesday morning, our neighbour knocked on our door and gave us the news.  Apparently, management were sending someone out to take a look later in the day.  Everything got very hot, very quickly.  I sent Samantha a message, asking her to bring in one of her 'new and improved' variety of fans, and any other cooling implement she may have in her household.  I opened my office door, as the corridor appeared to be quite cool, and any port in a storm would be appreciated!  

My office decor does not quite equate with the 'severity' of our profession.  I have a lot of pictures, posters and 'bits and pieces' that I did not transfer back to my house after we moved offices, nearly a decade ago, and I have streamers hanging from the ceiling tiles.  I never take anything down, once a decoration is put up!  Normally, my door is closed, and we rarely have visitors from other offices in the same building.  However, the open door caused a bit of a commotion. "No air conditioning?" they asked.  It was fairly obvious as the noise from the fans was quite deafening.  However, although the question was directed to me, the eyes of the person asking were on the streamers hanging from the ceiling.  "At least it is not 106 outside" was, almost always, the next comment.  No, it was not 106 outside, but it felt like that inside!  The outside temperature made no difference to me other than it seemed much cooler than my office!

"Monday", was the answer, when I asked the engineer when he thought it would be fixed.  I tried to think what day it was.  "Part should arrive tomorrow", which would, in my estimation be Thursday.  Why Monday?  He was gone before I could ask my next question, but I did hear him say he would drop off a fan.  A small compensation, but it would be welcome.  The fan did not arrive.  Apparently, he dropped it off at the office next door, because he did not realise (having been told each time they come out for any kind of maintenance) that we share a unit!  The staff in the office next door had decided to work from home, so my fan was sitting in an office that was not occupied, not doing anything remotely useful!  I emailed the managing agency!

A little after midday on Thursday, a young man who offices downstairs, stopped by and looked in. "You have no air conditioning?" he asked.  I responded that we did not.  "Does management know?"  I responded that indeed they did, and that I was waiting for another fan, having had to bring several from home, to keep all our offices relatively cool, and that despite the part being due in today, the engineer was predicting a Monday repair.  I had my suspicions that he was somehow connected to the owners of the building, hence my giving him excess information.  My hunch was correct, as within half an hour, our contact from the management agency was in my room, looking up at the ceiling, with all the hanging streamers, introducing herself!  "What do you guys do here?" she asked.  I told her that we deliver court documents.  "Hmm", she said, looking around my room, which looks like the residence of a senior citizen in a care home, with all her worldly belongings to make her feel comfortable.  "We are process servers", I continued.  "Oh, yes", she said.  "As it says on the name plate.  It is very, um, full in here".  I said that despite the appearance, we were not party planners, but my office is a 'home from home' and no one really comes to visit. Back to the business in hand, she told me that she was confident the repair of the air conditioning would be this afternoon, "tomorrow morning at the very latest!"  I thanked her profusely.  

The temperature gauge for the offices opposite, is in our hallway.  Apparently, when it is set cooler, one office is quite comfortable, but their neighobours freeze!  The waiting room of the second is like an ice box!  After everyone from said office had gone home, I sent Grant out to 'sort' the temperature gauge, and bring it down to a temperature that would keep my office cool.  He duly obliged, and before long, my room was somewhat bearable, although he had set it on a time limit, and once that expired, the heat rose again.  

As promised, the engineer was working on site quite early.  He stood with a large piece of equipment, and it took him a couple of hours to get the system up and running, but up and running it was by noon, and our office became somewhat bearable.  However, the temperature gauge in the next door office is also on a timer, and with the system having been defunct for the best part of forty eight hours, the timer had gone askew.  Fans were turned on again mid-afternoon.

This week progressed, and the temperatures rose again, although not to the levels that we saw in August and the beginning of September. Although hot, the mornings started off slightly cooler, and the late afternoon sun sets slightly earlier.  The water has cooled off a good ten degrees, and everyone shivered when they jumped in.  I spoke to a couple who were visiting from the north of England, and they thought the water was quite acceptable.  I quoted their cousin, whom they were visiting, "If you haven't swum in the North Sea, you don't know what cold is!"  They told me that they envied my life in such an idyllic setting, and I told them that whilst I am always grateful for this little piece of paradise, home will always be home!  However, I digress.

The water has cooled by about ten degrees, despite it being another reasonably warm week.  I am always happy for the temperature to drop just a tad, but then start to mourn the days ahead when the wet suit will  not be enough and I will no longer be able to exercise in liquid!

And just like that the summer is over!  Perhaps not quite over, but the pool is now full of tiny acorns.  As I emptied the skimmers at the weekend, the usual abundance of beetles were gone, and the little shells and nuts had made their way into the filters.  The cicadas are singing at dusk and the birds are starting their dawn chorus slightly later.  The circle of life continues.  I rescued a cicada from the pool one day during the week, and I jumped at the screaming sound it made.  Presumably, it was as shocked as me, and rubbed its legs together as I expelled it from the water, but it sounded like a blood-curdling screech.  

The University of Texas Longhorns have won their first three games of the season, so Austinites are feeling quite confident for the rest of the season.  Football season is well on its way!

Whilst some leaves are already a peculiar shade of brown, due to the heat and lack of rain, most of the trees have yet to become autumnal, but it will only be a short time before they do.  Nothing is as boring as talking about the weather, but then nothing is as magnificent as seeing the weather change the seasons!

Once again, I am back on track, and writing through my weekly experiences.  I apologise for not having a great deal to report, and for the majority of it being rather disappointing aspects of life, such as the lack of air conditioning.  As I watch the trees shake in the rather delicous breeze that is forming outside, I can only promise that I will try to bring more joviality to ..........another story!