Not Quite a Third World Country

We had a very interesting day yesterday. At some point around Lauds (so 8:50 until 9:20ish), Epcor (Edmonton's public/private utility company), while digging out behind the seminary, hit our water main, and for the rest of the day we did not have running water.

The huge irony here is that Epcor spent the last few days doing survey work to find those water lines and power lines and the like. I guess they succeeded.

Now, this didn't really make much of a difference at first. It actually took until lunch before most of us realised it had happened. Then, as we sat down to eat, we were eating off of styrofoam, paper, and plastic because we wouldn't be able to run the dishwasher. As the day went on, we learned more and more that this wasn't going to be fixed quickly, and come supper we still didn't have running water.

Supper was order-in pizza and bottled water, pop, etc. Supper was also after half an hour of most of us ambling out to the water trailor that Epcor had provided to haul water into our rooms to flush our toilets, brush our teeth, etc. It was really quite amusing to watch us slowly make our way out there a couple at time, usually carrying our blue, plastic paper recycling bins (emptied of all paper, of course).

The inability to shower meant that soccer did not happen after supper as had been planned, but instead a number of us went out to a movie (Juno). By the time we got back (10:30 pm, or later), the water main still hadn't been fixed, but Epcor had managed to hook up a larger water truck to our water system, thus restoring running water. Though not fixed when last I checked, today's water situation is basically back to normal as far as the turning on of taps goes.

For the most part, the water problem did not inconvenience us beyond the change of meal and sport plans--and toilet flushing. Most of us had showered before Lauds (though the few who didn't were QUITE cranky all day). The most amusing part of the whole situation was the fact that it happened when it did. For the first part, it seems that all the problems that have come upon the building this year (we've had two major water leaks in the library) have happened on the weekend--when the college end of the building is empty and we don't have staff working on maintenance or anything. The second amusing note is the fact that this weekend was the "Come and See" weekend, meaning that we had six seminary prospects who managed to, well, come and see what life at the seminary is like. Well, they got a really good look at what happens when the schedule gets mashed up. On whole, though, I think the *cough* "disaster" may have been beneficial in that regard, since the community tended to spend more time together, and there was a much greater feeling of cameraderie at supper and in the evening than usual.

Oh, and yes, I am avoiding homework by writing right now...