9 October 2001
I get a holiday, and it's still a Monday.
I mostly slept through Matt getting ready for work, because he's a wonderful wonderful person who - even though he's a little jealous that I got a day off and he didn't - crept quietly around the bedroom and did most of his dressing in the bathroom.
Unfortunately, when he was ready to leave for work, he realized - my car was blocking his in. And he can't drive my car. So he had to come wake me up and ask me to move the car. I pulled on some sweatpants and went out... BRRRRrrrr.... Chilly morning. Hey, is that frost on the cars?
I sat shivering in my car while Matt scraped the frost off his, and then cleared off enough of mine that I wouldn't back into the neighbors' cars when I pulled out. I let him out, then pulled back into the driveway, went inside, and went back to bed.
I got up around ten. I thought about sleeping later, but there were some things I'd wanted to do, and I didn't want to waste my entire day off by sleeping. I went into the bathroom and turned on the water in the bathtub.
When the bottom of the tub was filled (our drain can't keep up with the flow of the water) with cold water, I switched to the sink. Still cold. It usually only takes hot water a few seconds to start coming out of the tap.
I went downstairs and into the garage. Sure enough, the damn breaker had tripped again. I turned it off and then back on, and disgustedly sat down to check my mail. I got onto IM and chatted for a while. Near eleven, I decided that the water heater had had enough time to recharge at least enough water for my shower, so I went back upstairs.
Cold water. It did get a little warmer, but only in relation to what first came out of the tap.
Maybe it just needs a little longer, I thought. I got dressed and went out. I rode my bike up to the grocery store for a couple of little things, and stopped for lunch at the Subway. When I got home, I ate my lunch, and went back up to the bathroom.
The water was still cold, but I was feeling sweaty and gross from the bike ride. I took a cold shower (quite possibly the fastest shower I've ever taken outside of high school gym class) and got dressed again.
I flipped through the phone book. Obviously I don't want to call the electrician who wired the house. Besides my water heater suddenly flipping out, the lights in the living room and porch burn out after only a few weeks' use - I want a competent electrician fixing my water heater, thanks.
Rather than settle entirely for the "eenie-meenie-minie-moe" method of selection, I found two electricians in the yellow pages who were listed as being both electricians and plumbers. I figured, with water heater problems, that could only be a Good Thing.
I called one of them. They didn't answer. I called the other - ding! I explained my problem, and was told that they expected they could have someone out to look at it the next day. (That's today.) I left an assortment of phone numbers and my address.
So at some point today, I'll get a call from the electrician asking me to come home so they can try to fix our water heater. I hope we have some money left over.
And I just realized that if they're going to be calling me, I can't actually be away from my phone - I do not want to miss this call. And yet, my project requires me to be in the lab around the corner, and I have a staff meeting at 9:30. Maybe, come 8 or so, I'll call them back and ask them to change my work number to my cell phone number, so they can get through to me.
Or maybe I'll just give up and go home for the day. It would be easier.
Word of the Day:
chagrin - disquietude or distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure
Current Projects:
- drawing
- Hall stuff
- garden