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August 05, 2004

29: DEATH! IT SURROUNDS US!

On Sunday morning, Pete and I are headed to San Francisco for a week's vacation. I understand that it may not be very warm there, but it will certainly be warmer than this office, which is kept at a brisk 20 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm exaggerating, of course -- sometimes it approaches a sweltering 30.

I am seated as far from the air conditioning vents as I possibly can be, and yet I run the risk of DYING WITH HYPOTHERMIA! If I politely request that we adjust the thermostat to something a little more reasonable, I'm mocked for complaining and indirectly mocked for NOT BEING FAT. Why must I suffer for the dietary sins of others? Well, whatever. I'm not really in the mood to get insane with rage. I am, however, in the mood for lunch.

In related news, I think the orchid is dying.

Honestly, I think it's because the office is so cold. I've done everything else properly, and the plant was doing well. But with the weather being as it has been lately, and the extreme air conditioning needs of my coworkers, I think the plant has suffered more than I have.

I feel a sense of loss; I feel I've failed as a plant parent. I would reach out to comfort it but my hands are too numb and I run the risk of crushing it. Instead, I must sit here and watch my plant friend die.

I know it's pleading with me, silently, to end its suffering quickly. To take it from this world and send it into the next while it still retains some tiny bit of dignity. To grab it by the stalks and chuck it at a coworker's head. It begs this of me. It longs to die and scatter pieces of its corpse across the office so that we are reminded of what our selfishness means for others. Of how our need to work in an igloo-like environment meant pain and death for another.

The thought of this silent deathwish, this plea for a merciful release, gives me goosebumps on my skin and a shiver down my spine.

Either that, or it's just really freaking cold in here.

Posted by ashley at August 5, 2004 12:21 PM

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