The Year of the Cold Shower, Part 2

How many days does it take to deliver a hot water heater? In Brazil, 3 to deliver + 1 to install. Yes, you read correctly. I ventured to Amoedo (Brazilian Home Depot) yesterday after work and before our Thanksgiving celebration with friends (we worked Thursday, wait this topic is for another post coming later today complete with pictures of the festivities, so I'll stay on topic) to buy a new hot water heater, a.k.a. boiler.
I picked out and bought and 80 liter hot water heater/boiler. The technician was scheduled to come by the apartment this morning to investigate the situation OR to determine the correct "kit" needed for installation. The water heater will be delivered on Monday morning, and the technician will return Tuesday morning to complete the process by installing. I don't know about you, but I find it interesting that the technician can't come the same day as the delivery. It's just not the way it works here though.
Until then, cold showers. Man, am I looking forward to Tuesday afternoon. I think I'll make plans to camp out in the shower for at least 45 minutes testing the new unit, enjoying the warm water on my back, shaving my legs twice or three times and thoroughly conditioning my hair...ahh the thoughts of it are heavenly. Nothing like wishing away the weekend.
The length of time required for the completion of this transaction is typical here. It seems that things take twice as long to complete as they typically do in the states. Part of this is because jobs are created for people by compartmentalizing responsibilities. It would make sense to me that the person responsible for delivering the water heater would also be responsible for installing, but that is not the case. They are two different entities. The store is able to employ one or two men responsible for delivery and several others who are exclusively technicians. In a city of 14 million, jobs are scarce. I tend to complain about these situations requiring patience (I felt the same way in August when it took 2 weeks to re-hook up my gas--the beginning of the cold shower saga). Don't let me fool you though. See the fact that nothing is fast and no one is in a hurry is actually a really nice way to live. If you're late, no problem. If it comes tomorrow, no worries. If it doesn't arrive, it will tomorrow, no sweat. It really does reduce stress.
And although I am trying to remind myself of this, all I can do is scream: I want a hot shower TODAYYY!!!
And when all is complete and the new water heater is up and running, I'll be sure to post a photo of the shiny new addition to our household. And don't worry, I won't include any shower pictures during our first night with hot water again. This is a family friendly blog site.