Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Here's Your Stupid Sign, Sarah!

Yesterday I was working my tail off in my yard. I cleaned out flowerbeds and bought some new stuff to plant. I cleaned so much stuff out of them that I cannot lift the trash barrel I dumped it all in, and it is still sitting out by the street.

So needless to say, I was one ripe girl! I was so excited about taking a shower and washing all the grime off of me. Well, when I got in the shower, I noticed the water wasn't getting hot. I was desperate, so I just took a very COLD shower. I was praying, "Lord, please let this be a cheap fix! Home Depot already has all my money!"

Once I get out of the shower, I call my handy man extraordinaire, Jeff Gearhart. He, Amy, and the kids came over last night to assess the situation. He tried to light the pilot, but it just wouldn't light. We were talking about all of the things that could be wrong, when Jeff asked "Have you paid your gas bill?" I said no because I hadn't gotten one. Then he asked "Did you ever have the gas turned on?" It was then that it dawned on me that I didn't even realize I had gas, and no I hadn't had it switched over in my name. Jeff went out to the alley to check the meter and said there was a lock on it.

So for the past month, I have been living off of the previous owners' gas. It seems like I remember talking to them about what their expenses ran and I vaguely remember them mentioning gas.

I called Atmos last night and put in a request for the gas to be turned on. The man came over today and turned it on and lit the pilot. The hot water has returned!

Sigh! Thank you Lord for making this an easy/inexpensive fix! Sometimes I wonder where I leave my brain! If you find it, can you please return it to me?!?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I tried..I really really tried...not to laugh but I just couldn't help it!! You remind me of ME!!

I am glad that you did not have to go give more of your money to Home Depot. You just have to pay Atmos every now and then! hehehe

I absolutely hate cold showers so I am sorry that you did not get to give your tired achy muscles the warmth they deserved, but at least you were able to get clean. :)

Lisa E said...

Hey Sarah, Sarah,

That may be one of the funniest things I have ever heard in my life b/c it is something that I would do!! SO glad your prayers were answered and that you now have gas again...that sounds funny...anyway...YEAH GAS!! Hope you are loving your new home...love ya!

Lisa

Sarah said...

Hey, I'm here purely for your amusement! Laugh it up! Actually, I am glad to know that I am not the only one who might make such a mistake.

I've done many stupid things in my life. The gas problem is probably not at the top of the list, sadly. Sometime when we are all together I'll have to tell you the epsom salt mishap story. Not pretty! My mom loves to tell embarrassing stories on me to anyone who will listen. She especially loves to tell boys stories about me. Nice, huh?!? And she wonders why I don't bring guys home that often!

Anonymous said...

At least you didn't have someone come out to try and fix it. You would have had to pay them for a service call just to find out it's not turned on.

I did that with my oven once. It wouldn't work so we called the repair man. It cost me $45 for him to tell me that the oven won't work if the timer knob is set. AARRGGHH. I was so mad. I couldn't believe he really charged me. Of course he laughed a little and told me these were his favorite kind of calls ... as I forked over my check.

I'm glad your new home is coming along. I like that you're getting to do yard work and stuff ... I know you like being outside.

Lisa said...

Oh, Sarah! I feel your pain. I'm going to get an extra room for all of my stupid signs . . . a trophy room commemorating all of my daft moments. Thank God they pass.

I think Paige should have just forked that smug serviceman in his jugular and hung his stupid sign on it!

barry said...

Alot of people don't realize they have gas.......

Anonymous said...

Sarah,
almost the same thing happened to the girls in my rent house.
They told me they did not have hot water, so I sent the plumber,
he checked everything out, and came to know they had not paid the bill.
the good thing is, while the plumber was there, he realized the hot water heater was leaking,
so I got to buy a brand new hot water heater.


Barry, I am still laughing at that one....

Celia

Mommahen said...

Oh Sarah. How I love you, but I do find your adventures quite amusing! And I think you should get a trophy, not for the gas oversight, but for simply taking a cold shower!

I pray you have many more days filled with hot water in your new home!

Wait...that doesn't sound right. I hope you have many more days in which you can use the hot water in your new home. Your new home filled with hot water wouldn't be so good. :P