Water is an integral part of my life. So frequently I let the faucet run longer than I should, unnecessarily wasting probably an embarrassing amount each week. That is, if I ever thought about it.
I have been water-free since Monday. Nary a drop has escaped any faucet since the pipe under Andres’ unit burst, and I have personally relieved the panaderia next store of its 2.5 gallon water jug supply a little each day. My friend let me shower at her house last night, which was an amazing experience. I wandered around the bathroom, drunk on cleanliness, unable to remember the next step in my daily routine.
I am now in the process of boiling water for a make-shift bath. Three pots are on full blast and as they reach a full boil I dump them in the tub. I have about an inch so far. My theory is that by boiling all the water, by the time I have a respectable depth the temperature will even out. First batches will have cooled and the last batches will warm it up. If the water is too warm, I can use the room temperature to balance it out. I am also particularly impressed with my realization that I can use the dirty bath water instead of clean water to manually flush the toilet.
I’d like to say this experience has turned me into some water conservationist, but the truth is once I have water again I am taking the longest shower of my life.
It is freezing here in Chicago. Actually, it is technically below freezing level. The temperature registers in at nine below with the windchill factor about twenty degrees lower. This morning on the radio, DJs warned against going outside. “Avoid it at all costs,” they said, “as temperatures are dangerously low and frostbite is a major concern.”
This brings up a good point. Sometimes I can’t believe that we have to get up and go to work. Every day we go to a specified place and spend nine hours (including lunch) with people we didn’t know and maybe don’t even like after we had the chance to get to know them. The next morning we do it again.
At my work in particular, I make decisions that spend other people’s money and spend hours discussing the emotions a consumer feels after eating a sub sandwich. Perfectly toasted bread and bright red tomatoes cause us much angst when not up to our standards. Today I debated the difference between ‘cannot’ and ‘will not’ in section five of a promotion’s official rules. (My opinion was that there is not a difference and I still maintain that to be true. However, we changed it to ‘cannot’.) At least at the end of the day, my father (as a teacher) could think that he impacted the future leaders of the US in a positive way. Or my brother (as an advocate for the foster children in Chicago) can feel like he protected or prevented a child from further abuse. Of course, he might say that there is a lot of paperwork. I sell muffins, sub sandwiches and gravy. Even as an expert spinner, there is no way I can spin that to make it a benefit to society.
Of course, by saying that now I want to try.
I connect consumers with goods and/or services that will fulfill needs that they may or may not be aware of.
See what I mean?
In unrelated ‘ain’t this great’ news, I have no water. Not even a trickle. I called the president of my condo association and she said, “I think it would be cost-prohibitive to call a plumber at this time of night.” Um, what? My neighbors did not have water on a Sunday and the plumber came out then. I called my upstairs neighbor and he does not have water either. I suggested he call the condo president. He called me right back and said that a plumber was on the way. That was an hour ago. We shall see.