Wednesday, October 14, 2009

A Minor Rant

I planned to write today's post about the curiosities of Mexican refrigeration compared to US standards -- what things go in the fridge, which do not -- but then we lost power. Monday afternoon I had just finished doing whatever it was I was doing and got up to make lunch when that dreadful pinging sound came from the fuse box. Kind of like a shock from static electricity.

Yes, the power was out. Again.

We waited the ten minutes it normally takes to come back, and when we heard music coming from our neighbor's house I asked Ibis if we'd paid the bill. Now, some of you have heard me complain about this before and are probably wondering why we never pay our electric bill on time. Thing is, they used to put the bills on the meter, then they started putting them on our door/mailbox, and apparently now they're back on the meters. The meters are around the side of the building and half-covered with plants, so they aren't very easy to see, plus the billing cycle is every two months, so it's easy to lose track.

The last time this happened was right when I got back from my trip home, which was roughly a month ago, which also means something is off. We shouldn't have gotten disconnected until NEXT month.

Anyway, Ibis went down to the electric company and paid the bill, but instead of it coming back on within half an hour, we STILL don't have power over 24 hours later. Around 6pm Monday evening he ran an extension cord rigged from our downstairs neighbor's house that runs through our window and keeps the fridge running. And a fan, a light, and as of Tuesday, our computers. I'm writing this on Tuesday evening, and the latest from the electric company is we'll get it back Wednesday.

Since we have the extension cord we're really not THAT inconvenienced, but it would be nice to be able to turn on a light and do laundry. Or use the blender or coffee pot. Or watch TV.

*sigh*

Yes, I've made a note when to pay the bill next, and we'll start checking for the bills in a couple weeks.


/rant

12 comments:

Spy Scribbler said...

Aw, man, that sucks! I hope they give you a discount! And I'd be so curious to hear about the refrigeration standards, particularly since we have little frig space and I'm constantly trying to figure out what I can get away with, LOL. (It's so cold, mid-forties at night, that last night I left the leftovers by the window, LOL!)

Spy Scribbler said...

(I should say mid-forties in here, but mid-thirties outside. :-)

JLC said...

Natasha - Brrr!

Mel - Sorry about the power situation. :(

I am also curious about refrigeration!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Natasha, we pay for usage so we won't have to pay for these days. At least that's something. I think it's a good idea to use the cool air outside if you can!

JLC, the dirty clothes situation is taking the biggest hit. I'll try to write my refrigeration post for tomorrow.

Jon VanZile said...

Oh, Canada! Oh, Canada!

You can be sure the Canadians never lose electricity without a very good reason!

Nadine said...

That sucks. I hate when things are fixed (i.e. the bill was paid) and it's still not turned back on!

Hope it's on now!!

Liz Kreger said...

Wow, that had to suck big time, Melanie. I can't imagine being without power for that long. I think the loss of computer alone would send me over the edge.

Hope you have the power back on and things are back to normal.

Anonymous said...

Hope you get your power back soon.

I'm also interested in which foods get refrigerated there or not.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Lurker, I certainly hope not. Although, there if you lose power you probably die of frostbite much faster than you would here.

Nadine, it JUST came on. It's 5:45pm on Wednesday. Ugh. Apparently they came yesterday but must have fixed someone else's line.

Thanks Liz!

Gypsy, I just wrote tomorrow's post.

Robin said...

What if you were a little old lady who could die of heat stroke? It's pretty unfeeling just to cut off someone's electricity without warning. I protest.

Plus, the disorganization (not yours - theirs) is mightily annoying. Here's a bill, now read the meter, here's a bill again, it's every 2 months, it's every 1 month. . .That would drive me bananas.

Janna Leadbetter said...

The inconvenience of it really stinks, I can tell that from here. Glad you've got it all back!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, you raise a very good point. I've given up being surprised by anything that happens here.

Thanks Janna.