Water

I've been in a lot of weird situations in life. Here's another one last week. I have to preface it by saying I wasn't the biggest fan of government run services anyway. On Dec. 30th I had a book of checks fall out of my truck somewhere. They were blank, but just as a precautionary measure I closed the account and opened a new one on Dec. 31. Well, I checked my online billing to make sure there was nothing outstanding. The last online payment was to the City for my water service on the 29th. Now, most online billpay is automatically deducted from my account. Apparently, the city government has not gotten with this new technology and is sent a check by my bank. I guess at this point it became my fault because I didn't double check to see that it cleared. I just saw that they received it on the 29th and forgot that it's not automatically deducted. I get home last week and go to take a shower. Got the shampoo in the hair and the water cuts off. This is like 7:30 at night. I'm like, "What the?" I turn the knob back and forth...nothing. I go to the sink...nothing. I think to myself somebody turned my water off. I'm thinking it's one of my friends playing a prank on me. I have some interesting friends. I jump out grab a towel and I'm running down the stairs soaped up with nothing but a smile and looking like a crazy man. Usually, when the soap is on I don't leave the shower until I'm done. This is uncharted territory for me, and I'm not exactly thinking straight. For some reason, I was so focused on getting my water on it didn't dawn on me that I was about to go out into my neighborhood with nothing but a towel, shampooed hair, dripping wet and a wrench. Only, when I get there I find the water meter locked. Of course, at this point I realize this must be the county that did this to me. I also realize I have nothing but a towel on and I'm standing in my front yard as my neighbor is looking at me with a weird look and the couple jogging down the street is like, "Hey". I'm just like "Hey, how's it goin?, with a sheepish grin" Then the car coming down the street with the lights on to just illuminate it. I don't really say anything just try to ease back in as fast as possible. I go check the sink downstairs and find a small trickle. I realize this is my only hope and have to stick my head under the sink. When I say trickle it's literally barely coming out. I used all that was in the lines. I twist and bend my body like a contortionist for about 10 minutes until I get as much soap as possible off. I felt like I was playing some medieval game of twister with the sink. At this point I'm livid. I call the city emergency line and the only thing I could say is, "Why is my water off?" She's like, "Excuse me." I repeated, "Why is the water off at this address?" She realized I wasn't much for conversation and put me on hold. She came back and said, "Your water was shut off because the check you sent was for a closed account." I was like, "When did you receive the check?" She says, "The 29th". I said, "When did you try to cash the check?" She says, "The 2nd". I said, "In the 5 1/2 years I've lived here, how many times have I not paid my water bill or been late." She checks and says, "None." I said, "And you couldn't call somebody and tell them or have an automated payment system or cash the check in the 2 days before I closed my account." She says, "I'm not sure why it wasn't cashed on the 29th, but I can have it turned back on for you tomorrow if you want to go ahead and pay the $30 late fee and the $50 reconnection fee." I'm like, "My water bill is only $30 a month but, I don't really have a choice, do I?" At this point I'm just beside myself, so I pay for everything and then she says, "We'll have someone out there tomorrow" I said, "No, that's ok, why not just send someone at the end of the week." This is Tuesday. She says, "Ok, would you like it turned on on Friday." I just shake my head and say, "No, please come tomorrow and I'll just be without water tonight." I know that the woman doesn't care and I tried to be nice knowing it wasn't her fault, but I ended with this statement, "I'm putting a well in my backyard. I don't care how much it costs, and when I do I'm cutting off my water." That showed her, haha.