It's c c c c c cold!

I'll admit it: I'm a cheapskate. I guess I'm not cheap, per se, but I do love a good bargain and I like to save money. I call it being fiscally responsible. :)

So I determined that it's a good idea to keep the heat down to a reasonable number in the wintertime, thus saving money. So we set our thermostat to 65 degrees in the winter. I can live with that, unless I spend much time downstairs. It is freezing downstairs! I've decided that there is definitely something to be said for the whole "heat rises" thing.

However, I do spend an inordinate amount of time on the computer. Not that I spend my whole life here, but I spend at least an hour or more a day on the computer. And, wouldn't you know it, the computer is downstairs-- where it's freezing!

So knowing this, I come to sit down at the computer prepared. I have my blanket to wrap up in, and I wear warm clothes. For the most part, I stay relatively warm. That is, except, for my mouse hand.

I've gotten it down to a science. I keep my left hand cozy and warm inside the blanket, while the sacrificial "mouse hand" stays outside of the blanket in order to facilitate my computer experience. I can navigate the computer with my mouse hand. Heck, I've even gotten pretty proficient at typing with my one mouse hand.

But, by the end of my computer session, my mouse hand is frozen. It takes several minutes to get it warmed up to the point that I can even feel it again. And because one appendage is frozen, I swear it sends messages to the rest of my body, telling it to join my mouse hand in its misery. So within a few minutes, I am completely and utterly frozen.

Common sense tells me I should do one of two things: turn the heat up, or just get off the computer, dang it! The fiscally-responsible part of my brain says it would be ridiculous to turn up the heat just so I can better enjoy my computer experience. After all, it's not like I'll freeze to death. And the pleasure center of my brain tells me that I deserve this break at the computer. I need time to relax and wind down from the day. I shouldn't allow the cold temperature to deter me.

So, usually I end up sitting wrapped up in front of the computer until my mouse hand is no longer functioning. The rational part of my brain tells me to get up and warm my hand up before it falls off. Usually I listen to it. Unless, of course, I come across a really great blog, or find a very interesting discussion on a bulletin board, or I just have to answer an urgent e-mail. Then, I make the very rational decision that it's worth the sacrifice of my mouse hand to indulge in my electronic pleasures. After all, who needs a right hand, right?