Wednesday, September 20, 2006

My Dumb Hot Water Story

Normally the hot water in my condo is very hot. Last night, it was warm, and then it got cool. I called the condominium office and I was told I’d get a call back.

The call came and as per the people in charge of such things, “they” would come to my unit and take care of it first thing in the morning. “They” also needed permission to enter my condo.

My response was one of disbelief. Those in charge must surely know that there is a boiler and coming into my unit to turn my water on would accomplish nothing. I explained this to the secretary, who was only following orders – however dumb they might be.

My friend Mike sits on the board of directors and is also the chair of the maintenance committee. I called his cell phone and caught him before a meeting started in which the gentlemen who made the decision to fix the hot water problem from inside my condo were also attending. Mike started laughing when I explained things, and said he’d call me back.

Mike started by sending one of the meeting attendees home to check his own hot water, since he lives in my building. Soon I received a call from Mike that someone would be checking the boiler. BINGO!!! It’s nice to talk to someone who understands how things work.

In the end, the cracked heat exchanger was replaced and myself and the residents of the other 39 units in my building had hot water by morning. My that morning shower sure felt good…

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