Fun with utilities.

First it was our electricity - we lost if for 4 or 5 sweltering days in July then lost it for 5 very cold days in December. Then it was our gas company - we don't have an automatic reader (and our meter is in the basement) so they "estimate" our bill every month. The problem is the "estimate" is WAY over what we use in gas (Cody is stingy with the gas and heat). So we finally called them, told them our actual meter reading and now have a $800 credit on our gas bill. Yipee- free gas for the winter - though the gas company has had that money for over a year and we haven't.
Anyway, now it's the water. We first had water problems after the big storm in July (yes, the one that took our power) - somehow a huge water main broke, flooding our street and The Science Center down the street. They've been digging up holes deeper then our house all over our neighborhood since then. We randomly come home to find a note on the door saying we have no water until 9pm that night - this has happened at least a few dozen times - they're working on the main STILL and they needed to cut the water. Other then that the water main thing hasn't affected us greatly except the water pressure is about 1/2 of what it used to be.
Then there's today. Cody came home first, worked out and then realized we had no water. Curious but not terribly unusual. I was working out at the time, got home and Cody informed me of the problem. I asked if there was a note on the door and he said no. So I asked him where the most recent water bill was so I could call them - he brought me the sewer bill. I said "No, not the sewer bill, I need the water bill." He responds with "We don't have a water bill - it's run through the sewer people." "Nope," I replied - "there is an actual City of St. Louis Water Division that we pay bills to - those are the trucks constantly working on our street and surrounding streets on the big main problem." "Oh. I didn't know that. I don't think I've ever paid a water bill" was his response. Sure enough he was right. I called the water company and found out there was no maintenance on our main though our water WAS turned off - we had not paid our bill for a very long time and owed money. WHAT!?!?!? YOU TURNED OFF OUR WATER?!?!? AND DIDN'T WARN US? Don't you have to tell people before you cut off their utilities!!! Isn't that a constitutionally protected right or something??
Apparently Cody took over bill paying about a year ago and seriously hasn't paid a water bill since then. They only come every 3 months so we're not sure if we just managed to lose everyone one of them (I can see us losing one since every other bill we have it auto bill pay, but not all of them) or they weren't sending them to us. We found one from November 2005 and it was sent to "New Resident" - no other name. So we're thinking since we never "registered" with them they stopped sending bills. Go figure.
Anyway, since we were both dirty and sweaty we went to a friends house and took showers and hung out. We figued we can still brush our teeth in the morning with the water in our water bottles and then I can wash my face at work - right after calling the water company and paying the bill. The adventures in life. . . :)