Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Today is a new day!

I had an awful day yesterday. Seriously. On top of working yesterday from 7am to 10:30 pm, (minus a brief 11-1 period) yesterday was just kind of miserable. I felt like some people treated me poorly. I felt like some people walked all over me. I felt like I wasn't respected. And... at 12 yesterday afternoon, our power was shut off.
I thought I was going crazy. I kept checking to make sure I paid the bill. I kept checking to make sure it went through. I called Alabama Power and reported it. No one ever called me back. I had since assumed it had been resolved.
Well, after my long day at work, I came home and found my apartment black. There is usually a small glow through the house from tiny lights. The small green lights from a computer. The light from a clock. The glow from the tiny lights on the tv. The tiny microwave lights. Nothing. None of that was on. It was awful. While I wasn't exactly filled with exorbitant amounts of energy, I couldnt go straight to bed. I told someone one day I could live like a farmer. I could get up when the sun came up and go to sleep when the sun went down. Hardly!
I took Joon on a long walk. I had my iPod singing in my ear. And Joon and I went off. As I was coming back up, I had that overwhelming since of sadness. I lit some candles, and I crouched in the corner of my apartment to try and get online with AP again. I was sitting in bed... in the dork. I wanted to read. I wanted to have some sort of light. I flipped out on the phone with Andrew. People lived without power before, but not at 12 at night. Finally someone called me.
I wont go in to detail, but basically, my downstairs neighbors forgot to pay a bill. They were supposed to have their power cut off. Andy called when he found a notice on the door. He told them his power was still on and he had this awful feeling that ours was cut off instead.
Well, in the process of everything getting back on, we discovered that the meters were switched. THAT explains why mine was cut rather than his. Do you know what else this means. It means that for THREE YEARS, I have been paying the wrong bill. It means that for three years, when I was turning off lights, installing solar lights, opening windows instead of using the AC, turning things off night, and just all around conserving, I wasn't getting anything out of it. It means that When there were four boys living underneath me, I was paying their bill. it means that when they didn't have gas, and they were heating their apartment will the OVEN (which runs off electricity) I was paying for it. When they were leaving their lights on... I was paying for it.
Alabama Power claims they are going to do some sort of credit, but honestly, what can they do?
I am so furious.

2 comments:

Carla said...

OH WOW. That sucks so much. I can not believe that happened. You've got to get like 3 years of free power or something. That is so bad. I'm so sorry!

Carla said...

Hey, did this ever get resolved?