Good Moves, Part 5: The Devil’s Armpit

What is the last thing you want to happen on the last day before you are out of the house? You’re going to say “poltergeist,” and I hear you, but something a little more day-to-day is what I’m thinking, like the power being switched off by the power company. For three hours my beautiful wife was working in 90+ degree heat with no power in the house. Brutal! But she had the fortitude (and the deadline) pushing her. June 10, power goes out. June 11, we close. We still have cleaning and items to remove. Mrs. Bad Ass is doing it all, taking quick showers to cool her down.

And did I mention she’s doing this on her birthday? Ugh!

!!!

Frantically, I called the electric company to correct this, but I got stonewalled. There was nobody who could help or would help. The process takes 24 hours to cycle through. I explained the heat, the birthday, the one day, and nothing. I ask to speak to a manager. My account supervisor says there’s nobody higher to talk to. They then try to sell me on upgrading my power plan.

In the midst of my calamity, their response was to ask for more money. Let that sink in.

I can’t help it. I laugh. “We can deal with getting y’all more money later. Right now I just need power to the house.”

They provide me clinically sanitized apologies for my dilemma and restate there is nothing they can do. I was furious. Not at the customer service rep “account supervisor.” I get all that. I’m mad at the company for a process that doesn’t allow for such contingencies. Check that, I’m furious at the company. I hang up, apologize profusely to my wife for her horrible conditions. She’s still working in the devil’s armpit.

A couple hours later, the power comes on.

Again, !!!

Did my pleading and begging chisel away the bureaucracy to get through to the caramel goodness on the inside? That’d be cool, but I doubt it.

Andrea told the new owners (via our agent) about the situation. Perhaps they were able to get power started early, but if they’re using the same power company, I doubt that. They probably would’ve been steamrolled with the same nonsense we got. Probably. Maybe. The truth is, I don’t know.

What I do know is that I’m elated. The H in Houston is for Humidity and Heat, and June 10 was one of those scorching, wet days. Devil’s armpit, cow’s butt, fish-in-the-face sauna days. Air conditioning is a God-send. I’ve heard Houston described as the capitol of air conditioning, and there’s a reason for that. I’m glad whatever happened happened, whether it was because of the power company starting early for the new owners or my pleas going through.

I do have my own theory, though, which is that the power had to be cut in the morning to transfer to the new owners. I don’t know anything about electricity companies, but it feels right to me. If you work at an electric company, maybe you can suggest a better answer.

The lesson learned is clear. If you’re moving this summer, extend electricity in the house by a couple days. If you close July 4, keep electricity through the 5th or 6th. Sure, you’ll pay a little more, but at least you’ll have electricity.

This is the second time this year we’ve gone without electricity. The first was the Great Texas Freeze, and it was a good reminder of how much we need electricity. Two days ago was another reminder of the power of Edison’s design and how much it props up the world on its back. I think to be able to generate your own electricity without a reliance on grids and companies is something we should all work on. A wind turbine in every home kind of thing. What do you think?

For now, we are here. We’ve arrived. Only a few more boxes need to be brought into the apartment. That part of the journey is over.

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