Tuesday, October 17, 2006

So this morning it was a bit chilly in my apartment, and the hot water in my shower wasn't as scalding as it really could have been, and I called my landlord to let him know that it appeared my furnace wasn't working. At some time during the day my phone did its mystery thing where it freezes/dies and you can't tell anything is wrong except nobody is calling you but in fact they are calling and leaving voicemail but the phone isn't telling you about your messages either and basically you just have to turn it off and on to reset its dumb little brain. I got home this evening and it was just as cold (62 degrees) as before, and I man-handled my phone until I got a message from my landlord saying that the gas had been turned off. Huh. I have my most recent bill right here, and I sent payment a week ago, and it was for something like $33. Why would they shut it off? I called the gas company, and after a bunch of embarrassed-sounding pauses and questions like, "So wait, you're not Cleopatra Jones?" [name changed to protect my neighbor], the lady told me that another tenant in the building had accidentally shut my gas off. Apparently, you can just call up the gas company, tell them an address, and without having any information about who lives there, like their name, the gas company will shut off the heat to their apartment. Good to know for the next time I need to enact revenge on one of my enemies. The gas lady said she would send someone to turn it back on as soon as possible, of course, since it was their mistake. And "as soon as possible" means, of course, 8:00 tomorrow morning. This means no shower for me tomorrow, and an extra blanket tonight. I'm just lucky this didn't happen in January...

1 comment:

No Stand In Will Do said...

hey, i haven't had any heat all week either! we're twins. the irony is that my home has 2 heat sources: wood stove, which i cannot use regularly (or safely at all) until i get the chimney liner replaced and the gas boiler, which i found out today had some beat up and crapped out wires.

so for the last few very cold days i have been wearing long underwear and fleece pants and two or three shirts and sweaters plus making the dog cuddle up with me while i continue with my Star Trek marathon.
"i want my pain! i need my pain!"