With my second cup of coffee I headed for my computer. No internet (nothing too unusual here) so I turned on the TV. NOTHING ! As I was uttering another curse at Telecable I noticed that there was also no power (I had not even noticed my second cup was not as hot as the first). Sure enough the coffee pot was almost cool. At first I thought I would stick it in the microwave, then at second thought that did not seem like a great idea. Power goes on and off here periodically usually with no know reason. I decided to check out the neighborhood. As far as I could determine I was the only one without electricity. I called my trusty Saul. He said he would be over in 20 minutes (that of course is Mexican time). Almost two hours later he arrived with his bucket of tools. I just wanted him to call the electric company, but not he had to find out what was wrong so he took my meter apart. After a few probes, he said, "No luz" Well, yes that is exactly why I called him and now please call the electric company, while handing him my cell phone. He said that "No" we had to use a land line (he did not explain why).
We went around the corner to his office. Of course the wait is forever to get a live person. In the meanwhile he explained that there was only one office to handle calls and it was in Mexico City and since it handed the entire country, it always took a long time. Once he got a real person to speak to I handed him my previous electric bill, with the receipt stapled to it (not more than a week old) After much communication I could not understand, and many "holds" and pauses, he hung up and explained that Aqucate 271 owed 2,535 pesos so they cut the wire. But I am Aguacate 265 and I paid mine I screamed. He just laughed and said maybe because all the electric meters were under the landlords name, they just shut them all off. I went back around the corner and found that 271 was the fish taco stand. After confronting them, they admitted that they did indeed owe money, but had paid half and thought that was enough (Obviously Not!) But why do they still have electricity and I do not? Well this caused them all to laugh (everything in Mexico is a joke to them) I was not smiling. They said they would pay it but because it was a Saturday, probably nothing could be done until Monday. I could not live without electricity for three days.
I headed to the Sporting Goods Store owned by the Rizo family and where I pay my rent. I wanted to talk to the lawyer, but he was not there. Fortunately one guy spoke enough English to understand my problem and took my paid bill and went to the phone. I thought he was calling the lawyer, but no he was calling the electric company. He went through the same interminable wait and after hanging up said that it was a mistake and they would take care of it on Monday. WHAT?
Just to further complicate my day (you notice I love to do that to myself), I had ordered a fumigation of my apartment. I do not have cockroaches, rats or fleas, but I did have ants. I had tolerated the tiny ones, but once the big red ones moved in I knew I had to do something. The kid had been there the day before to give me a price. He said 350 pesos, I said 250 pesos and he said, "Okay" (that is just the way business is done here). He was scheduled at 11:00 but I knew he would never show up on time, but just in case I had told the fish taco guys to watch out for him and ask him to wait. Sure enough he was there waiting for me. I tried to explain the "No luz" but he said it did not matter as he drug up a huge tank of liquid. He explained that he would move the furniture, but later put it back and clean the floors. Once he started, I knew I had to get out of there. He said it would take about one hour so I decided to go for breakfast. I was starving by then. I have a gas stove, but with electric starters and if the electric stater does not work, as a safety factor, the gas does not come on. (One of the few "safety factors" I know of in Mexico)
When I returned he was still spraying down the walls. He was wearing a gas mask, so to me the smell was unbearable. I paid him the 250 pesos (about $20.00) and told him to lock up when he left as I was going to the beach. I also told him to leave all windows open. As I was exiting my apartment, one of the fish taco guys stopped me and introduced me to a business looking woman. She was an executive of the electric company and one of them happened to know she lived around the corner. She said she would do what she could and asked for my telephone number. I gladly gave her my card and thanked her. Sure enough about 3 hours later my phone rang. They were on the way. The beach I go to is 14 blocks away, but I am too cheap to take a cab even in an emergency, but I did get there quickly. They were waiting outside as if they needed to get inside. Why I do not know for the problem was at the pole across the street. Finally one guy crawled up into that maze of wires (I hate to admit it but it is easy to see how one might clip the wrong line).
It took quite a while for him to correct the matter (he is the one in the hard hat). Voila! I had electricity again. For another explained thing, they never did cut off the electricity at the Fish Taco place. As soon as things calmed down (and I did too with a beer) I sat down at my computer to write this posting. I felt it was just too good to pass up. What I did not know was that the saga was not over.
No internet! It was now almost 5:00 Saturday, I knew the the Telecable office would not answer, so I called the guy from Telecable who does moonlight work for my friend Ed. He had failed to show the last time, but I was desperate (maybe I did not tip him enough the first time). He said he was now home, but he would try to get someone. Sunday was a loss, so Monday I called him again. I think he said "one hour" but I had heard that before so I now called Telecable. It does have a "press dos" for English, unfortunately it is rarely English that I can understand. Some how I got through to her but she said that today was not possible, but maybe Tuesday morning. Not trusting that, I called again on Tuesday. She told me it would be Wednesday at the earliest. I explained to her that this was my second call and after another ten minutes on hold, she said the technician would be there by 3:00. I was afraid to leave the apartment so all the things I needed to do for my party would have to wait another day. By 4:00 I called again and she said the technician was on his way (FROM WHERE? Mexico City?)
By now I had used all the minutes on my phone, but could not leave to buy more credit. Maybe that is why Saul wanted to use a land line. Finally just before 5:00 he arrived. I told him I was sure it was the modem that must have been fried by the power surge (although I have everything plugged into a large power surge box). The lights on it kept going on and off. He did several things on my computer then called his company and the next thing I knew he was climbing up the pole across the street; (he is the one in the white baseball cap). He seems that the electric people somehow screwed up my internet line while fooling with their line. I just prayed that when he came back down the pole that I would still have electricity. But now I have both "luz" and internet, so I am able to write this. And it only took four days !
I always try to think of the bright side. It could have been worse, it could have been the day of my party. I do think that living in Mexico may be a preventive for Alzheimer's disease. Your wits are constantly challenged here. Besides, where else could I get this kind of fodder for my blog?
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And I thought crossing ladies and their kids, holding coffee cups and two dogs and pushing a stroller with another child on their way to school was difficult to deal with!!! You do have the patience of someone or you're just getting so used to dealing with it. Your writing makes it more interesting.
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