November 18, 2016
Dear Everyone:
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.
One of the advantages of being on my
Homeowners
Association (HOA) Board is getting advance notice of some things.
Like last Tuesday when “Mannie” the Maintenance Guy informed me
that we had a “possible break” in the water main near Building 15.
I had already noticed a
plumber’s truck near
a large puddle of water in the parking lot when I stopped to pick up the
mail.
So it wasn’t a total surprise when “Mannie” came by the HOA office,
where I was installing a new computer and printer, and told me that they
would probably have to shut the water off on Wednesday.
In fact, I made sure to take my morning shower early, and started
a load of laundry well in advance of the advertised shutoff time.
As it turned out, they never did shut the water off on Wednesday because
they realized the job was “much bigger” than anticipated.
Instead, “Mannie” put up signs that the water would be off on
Thursday “9:30 – 3:00”. At
approximately 7:19 that morning, the electricity went out.
“Mannie” insisted it wasn’t anything they had done.
In fact, they hadn’t even started.
It was just a coincidence that someone hit a
transformer and
knocked the power out for a large part of
San Ramon.
But I knew the water was going to go out too, so I took my shower
by candlelight.
All the while reminding myself that “this is not the end of the world.
It’s just an inconvenience.
Nobody is dropping bombs on your head” like they are in parts of
Syria.
Nevertheless, we tend to assume that these “modern conveniences” should
always be there for us. When
we were kids, living in
Lake Oswego,
the power went out so frequently that it was not an acceptable excuse
for not getting your homework done.
Teacher: “You knew the
lights could go out, so you should have done your homework while the sun
was still up.”
Kid: Glum silence.
And of course the plumbers ran into some trouble or other, so “Mannie”
changed the “finish” time estimate to “around 5:30”.
In fact, the water came back on at 5:31.
So it was really only 8 hours without being able to use the
bathroom. Or the kitchen
sink.
But it’s all better today, right?
Then we got an email from the property manager.
Someone had reported a “drip” in the fitness center / gym.
An investigation found a “small leak” coming from the
fire
suppression system, which was installed nearly 40 years ago.
Do we shut it all down and hire a 24/7 “guard” to watch the
building in case a fire starts?
Or do we turn the whole system off, make repairs and risk the
entire system blowing out when they start it up again?
Or do we just plug the existing holes and hope for the best until
we can get multiple bids to repair, and possibly replace, the whole
thing?
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.
Programming Note: Next week
is
Thanksgiving and “Jeannie” and I expect “Marshall” will be joining
us for the holiday. So no
Letter next week. Everyone
have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving.
Love, as always,
Pete
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