Life in the big city

Well, I think I have hit a streak of bad luck, and I'm really hoping that it expires soon as my patience are definitely being tested. It started with Joe being sent back to the U.S. from Rio Thursday and continued on Friday when trying to relight the pilot on my hot water heater. After several failed attempts, I decided to try to light the stove since I know for sure how to do that...nope, no gas at all in the apartment.
I called my Portiero (doorman) to find out why I didn't have any gas only to find out that it had been disconnected! Seems a bill wasn't paid. I had left my bills in good hands when we left for the U.S. in June and I am confident they were taken care of diligently, so I couldn't determine why the gas service would have been aborted.
As I dialed the number to Jennifer and Valdir for help, I felt the quiver. The chin, the bottom lip, the twitch in my eyes and as soon as Jennifer said hello, I lost it. Pushed right over the edge. Grown woman reduced to blubbering, crying, little girl. See between learning it was disconnected and phoning Jen, I had attempted to go online to investigate...it was futile. I couldn't even navigate my way to my account let alone determine the issue or moreso resolve it.
Thankfully, about an hour later, Jen's husband Valdir knocked on the door to "help me with my gas". (We had a chuckle at his wording) We discovered that the bill from May was never paid. I searched through all of the statements and was able to find every bill since our initial arrival in Brazil beginning August 2007 EXCEPT May. It is possible we never received the bill. However, each gas bill here is separate from the last and the amount is not automatically added to the next month's bill should one be missed. So, regardless of the fact that June and July and every month other than May had been paid in full, the gas company cut service. What does that mean for me and Sierra?
No hot water, no oven, no stove...when can we fix this problem??? Well, this is Brazil, remember. So it will be a few days. Friday night, I paid the missing May bill online. Monday morning, I must fax the receipt and statement to the gas company, then I must phone the gas company to request service be re-enstated and hopefully, it will be done by Tuesday!! In the meantime, we have been showering at Jen and Valdir's around the corner and eating take out with them for dinner. I never thought I'd say it, but I will be happy when I can cook a meal! And I will be happy to be able to take a hot shower and crawl directly into bed.
Just as I was thinking nothing else could go wrong...we woke this morning to discover our landline is now dead! It had been very fuzzy and full of static since Thursday when we returned, but this morning it is clearly NOTHING on the line when you pick up the phone. I thankfully have a cellular so I can still communicate with others here and we really don't use the phone that much, but I could do nothing other than laugh when I picked up the phone and heard the deadly silence and asked, "What next?"
Oh, I know what next. We ran out of water this morning. This is something that we have in the house in the big 20 liter "culligan-like" bottles since the tap water is not drinkable. So, I call the drogaria where the water comes from, and in broken portuguese think that I have successfully ordered a 20 liter replacement bottle to be delivered. (this is something Joe used as physical activity. He personally walked to pick up these bottles for us once or twice a week depending on need and carried them home for a workout, so we had never ordered them for delivery before today) About 30 minutes after the phone call the delivery boy appeared at my door with 1.5 liters of water! OOPS! I guess the broken portuguese wasn't exactly accurate on that one. Valdir to the rescue again...I called him for the phone number to the drogaria he orders his water from, called that drogaria and voila! 20 minutes later, water delivery boy appears with the 20 liter bottle, opens it AND tips it upside down into the dispenser! YEAH! Success in small bits right now is huge.
At this rate, I should be afraid to leave the house. I don't remember breaking any mirrors, or black cats crossing my path, I'm certain I didn't walk underneath a ladder...I can't figure out where all of this bad luck is coming from. It has to change, right?
Although, I haven't been up to school yet. The way things are going, my classroom is probably in shambles too. I'll wait until tomorrow morning to find out. I'm not sure I could handle the disappointment today.