If nothing else, these first seven months at my new job have taught me that I need to dress for work the exact opposite of what the season calls for.
All winter long, I roasted in my office. Even with the ceiling vent closed, heat would still seep in and slowly roast me. I came home one December evening sporting a tan and Tara gave me some serious side-eye.
OK, slight exaggeration. But I did take to wearing short-sleeved shirts and cracking my window open when it was 15° outside, snow was falling, and the wind was howling.
I was dreading an even hotter summer at work, but instead, I’m confronted with the exact opposite. Once the weather outside warmed up and they switched the thermostat from HEAT to A/C, I’ve been freezing my ass off. Now my office feels like the damn North Pole. So, today I brought in a nice, thick flannel shirt. The air-conditioning cycles on and off randomly; when it’s not running, my office is the perfect temp. But then it kicks on and my thoughts turn to steaming mugs of hot cocoa in front of a blazing hearth. The only logical solution is to put the flannel on whenever the A/C kicks on and take it off when it stops.
At least I’m not tied to my chair all day long, huh?
My parents arrived for a weeklong visit on Tuesday afternoon. They were greeted with 98° sunshine.
“Feels like my office around Thanksgiving!” I said.
You might recall that they’d planned a trip out here in April but ended up cancelling their plans when the forecast called for a little cold and snow. And yes, we got a few inches one of the days they would have been there, but in April the snow doesn’t stick around long. I think their visit would have been perfectly fine.
Instead, they’re here in the midst of a near-record-breaking heatwave. Interspersed with an on-again/off-again threat of severe weather, because this is South Dakota, after all.
Tuesday serves as a perfect example. We’d been sitting on the patio out back, sipping wine and catching up despite the heat. There was nary a cloud in the sky, so nobody believed me when I mentioned that it was going to storm shortly.
“It’s perfectly clear!” my mom said.
“Just you wait,” I replied.
Midway through dinner, we got a weather alert. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning had been issued for Rapid City. Sure enough, the clouds piled up in the west and darkened ominously. By 8:00 it was clear we were in for a wild ride.
The next few hours brought all kinds of thunder, lightning, wind, rain, and hail. It was quite the storm! I would have been skeptical myself given the sky conditions just two hours earlier, but I’ve lived here long enough to know how quickly the weather can — and does — change. It happens all the time.
Today was hot again but perfectly benign. Thursday, they’re forecasting another round of evening storms, and these have the potential to be even worse. I’m not planning any outdoor activities after work, that’s for sure.
Tonight, however, we’re headed to Sabatino’s, our favorite downtown Italian eatery. We’ve been dying to take them there.
Not going to lie: I’ve been daydreaming about Papperadelle Boscaiola all day long.
Mark My Words 
I miss those ripping thunderstorms, we rarely get them here.
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I view them with a mixture of awe and fear. And yet, Tara has to literally drag me inside when they’re firing up.
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We used to sit on our porch and watch them roll in. I loved it.
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I always stay outside a couple of minutes longer than it’s technically safe, but I can’t help myself.
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I got a weather alert 20-40 cm if heavy rain imminent.
I’m sitting outside on the back porch and the sky is completely clear. No wind. Hot but not stifling. Nary a cloud in sight as someone might say…
?
🙃
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Hmm. I’m curious if your weather alert panned out?
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Nothing. Bone dry all night. 😳
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Bummer! THEY LIED.
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Stay away from trees…
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In other words, stay out of the backyard! Got it. 🙂
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We’re getting similar weather, though by the time it gets here, the heavy storms are isolated. There seems to be a preponderance of rainbows because that’s all I’ve been seeing on Instagram and fb.
The office temp would drive me nuts. In the summer, I always take a jacket to restaurants because they jack up the AC. It’s irritating.
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It sounds like Ohio has been getting a ton of rain this year. Wish you could send some our way!
Next time you make a dinner reservation, ask for a table for two and a blanket for one…
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Ah, thunderstorms. And hail. (I am nostalgic for only one of those things.)
My SoCal kid thinks just ordinary rainfall is a big deal. His first summer trip to New Hampshire, we experienced a massive storm. The house got hit by lightning (it’s on a hill and it has a lightning rod) and he was shrieking, “Are we gonna die?! Why would you bring me here?!”
I just laughed.He thought hailstones were very cool afterwards, though.
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Hailstones ARE cool afterward. But when they’re falling and you start worrying about your car, house, garden, etc., not so much!
Rain is a novelty in CA. I know this firsthand.
I’m laughing at Baby D’s reaction. “Why would you bring me here?!”
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Glad your parents are being entertained, at least.
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Oh, we entertain THE SHIT out of them.
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Yikes! Good thing there isn’t still a t.p. shortage.
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Bwahaha!
Haha!
Ha.
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What a showoff Mother Nature is in your area; wowza.
Your hot/cold/hot/cold scenario in the office sounds like a menopausal situation. I now know you can sympathize.
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Ha! Yes, I’ve been around menopausal women before. Never would have thought about using that particular analogy, but it’s accurate.
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Your sky is a beautiful color during your thunderstorms. Not that it makes them less threatening. Hoping your dinner at your favorite Italian restaurant was all that… and a bag of cannoli. Happy Weekend.
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It was all that and a bag of cannoli with a side of tiramisu thrown in!
When our thunderstorms roll in around sunset, as they often do, we get skies that color. It never gets old!
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One huge drawback to California…no spectacular thunderstorms!
…And then we finally got one and the end result was killing 10% of the world’s redwoods 😦
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Same with the PNW. Honestly, it’s one of the reasons I left. I love extreme weather—heat, cold, storms—and couldn’t imagine never getting to experience it again.
Sad for the redwoods though.
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Ugh, our stupid June heatwave. Several days in a row we broke records. Some schools even canceled the last few days of school or made them optional because they don’t have A/C. My school is relatively new and thus I have to wear sweaters there in June. We’re back below the 90s now, but I still have to fire up the ol’ central air in the late afternoon so sleeping is comfortable. I’m even sitting here sweating now as my house tries to cool down once again. . .
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It’s ridiculous so early in the year. We hit 101 yesterday. That’s enough to bring me to tears! But at least I was able to truly appreciate my ice-cold office.
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Ahh yes, every office I’ve ever worked in has that reverse weather thing going on. I had a little space heater under my desk that I cranked on to combat the freezing AC in the summer time.
Those stormy sky photos are amazing!!!
I hope it was a perfect batch of Papperadelle Boscaiola!
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Thermostat wars do seem to be a universal office trend, huh? I’ve never worked in a place where the temperature has been perfect all the time.
The Papperadelle Boscaiola was top-notch, as usual!
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