My longtime friend, Julie, and I’ve been having the time of our lives now that we’re college seniors. We’ve had some amazing experiences over the years. We’ve known each other since kindergarten. Things have worked out in our favor. We’re now roommates. Instead of having to walk across campus to visit each other, we now share a two-bedroom apartment. We’re full-time students, and both work part-time. We need to make enough money to pay our rent, books, utilities and groceries. Money is tight, and we are very conscientious about the thermostat setting in the apartment. The heating and cooling equipment is rather old, and it’s not in the best shape. During the warmer weather, we try not to run the air conditioner if possible. Most of the time, we manage by opening windows and running a few box fans. The humidity is a problem, and the apartment often feels sticky. We deal with condensation running down the windows and combat mold growing on the sills. Unfortunately, the air conditioner is simply too expensive to run. In the winter, we have no choice but to rely on the furnace. In this area, we get temperatures well below zero with vicious wind chill. There’s no way to go completely without heat. We keep the thermostat set very low. Julie and I bundle up in layers of sweaters, fuzzy slippers and socks. We both have heated blankets on our beds. She and I make sure to turn the thermostat down extremely low before we leave for class or work. Then we come back to a freezing cold apartment at the end of the day. It’s necessary because the heating system isn’t very energy efficient.