A job opportunity compelled me to move down south three years ago. I was not given a lot of time to complete the move. I was barely able to pack up my possessions and accomplish the fifteen hour drive. I needed a place to live right away so I chose an apartment from pictures online. I looked for a place located in close proximity to my work. I made sure there was covered parking and walking access to restaurants, grocery store, bank and nightlife. I should have been more concerned with the daily details. I didn’t even consider that the utilities weren’t included with the rent. I didn’t notice that the cooling system was very old until I moved in. When I happened upon the outdated plastic dial for the manual thermostat, I knew I was in a bit of trouble. The control was about the age of my grandma. I moved in during the early Spring and already the outside temperature was in the eighties, with high humidity. It was necessary to run the air conditioner. I lowered the temperature on the thermostat and started up the air conditioner. It made a horrible rattling sound. The air coming from the vents was tepid, dusty and smelled weird. The a/c provided little air. It ran all the time but couldn’t handle demand. The apartment consistently felt a bit overheated and damp. The stink of the air conditioned air gave me a migraine. My electric bills were so high that I nearly cried. Unfortunately I’d signed a year’s lease, so I was trapped in that apartment. At the end of the year, I found a new apartment. Although the rent was more expensive, I still saved because of the superior efficiency of the cooling unit. I was also more comfortable.