You become spoiled with how quickly things move in the United States, and sometimes these conveniences of time are hard to find in Mexico. Now, I will preface that the story I'm about to tell you was in fact our fault because we weren't paying attention to how long it had been since we filled our propane tank, but the time it took to get it filled was definitely out of our control.
It was Thursday, April 15th and I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and getting ready to open the bar--making the much needed simple syrup for drinks--when the flame on the stove went out. Now, this shouldn't have come as a surprise because my shower in the morning was luke warm and that wasn't normal, but I wrote it off thinking the pilot light just needed to be checked--and of course I forgot to check it after my shower and went on with my day. So when it came time to cook that night the propane was at it's last few drops and it was too late in the evening to call any of the gas companies.
So, first thing Friday morning Jeremy called Global Gas. Now for those of you who live in San Pancho or have visited us you'll know that gas trucks drive up and down the road all day long advertising their services through big loud speakers, but most of them only carry the smaller tanks and we have a big tank so we couldn't just flag them down like normal. Once we got a hold of Global Gas the lady assured us that they would be by later that afternoon or tomorrow morning to fill the tank. So, as frustrated as I was to have to take a cold shower I sucked it up and took one, because after all it was our fault for not paying attention to the gas level. At 2:00pm I came home from work and still no gas. So we waited and waited and finally gave up hope that they were going to show that day at 6:00pm.
I woke up Saturday morning with hope that they would be at our door first thing, but no such luck. So after waiting all day we finally called back at 3:30pm only to find out that they stopped by the house at 2:00pm but nobody was home. Lie! We waited there all day for them and didn't even see the truck drive by. So Jeremy politely asked when they would return to San Pancho and she responded with Lunes (Monday). Great! Now we have to go another two full days without a warm shower or being able to use the stove/oven. And by this time I'm angry.
Sunday passes with no gas and then Monday rolls around. I once again endure my cold shower and head to work. When I return to the house at 2:00pm Jeremy was patiently waiting on the front porch to make sure he wouldn't miss the gas truck. But of course they never came and we called once again. The response we got this time was that they were in deed coming today but she couldn't give us an exact time frame. We had made plans with friends and couldn't stick around waiting for the gas company to show up any longer. So, Jeremy called another friend who had a phone number of a different gas company. Jeremy called Soni Gas and they were at our door step within 20 minutes. Finally, we have gas! But as soon as they finished filling the tank we were out the door to Sayulita to hang out with our friends.
We came home that night and Jeremy was sweet enough to light the pilot light for me so I would have a warm shower the next morning--but since the tank had sat empty now for four days air had built up in it and when he lit the pilot light the flame came barrelling out and burned his arms. I felt awful.
The next morning when I was finally going to take a warm shower the water wasn't heating up, so I went out to check the pilot light to find that the flame was barely burning. So I turned the knob--the wrong way--and the pilot light went out! I calmly walked into the house and in my sweetest voice told Jeremy--and needless to say he was less than happy with me, especially after he had burned his arms lighting it the night before.
Jeremy tried for almost 45 minutes to get it lit without any luck. So I told him I'd take care of it, since after all it was my fault that it went out. I called our dear friend, Jordi, who came right over and got it lit on the first try--of course!
So, lesson learned...1. Pay attention to your propane usage and when you filled it last. 2. Know that when you here manana it really means semana--or maybe never. 3. Appreciate warm showers and being able to use your stove/oven. 4. Practice patience!
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