Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Personal (E-mail we didn't want to receive from Dr Ed Borbon our House-sitter)

Dear Carter and Winnie,

I'm so glad I walked in the big house just at the right time, and that
the emergency must have happened not long before I went in. Around past
7pm when I decided to check the big house, I heard a hissing sound
coming from the fridge area in front of Grandma's room and when looked
for it's source, I saw water creeping out of the door beside it. When I
opened the door, hot water was spurting at the neck of the drain faucet
of the right side tank and the floor was already flooded. Fortunately
the water hasn't reached grandma's carpeted room yet. I looked for the
main valve but couldn't find it in the pipe maze and there were several
valves there as well. When I saw the water spraying at the electricals
on the left side of the wall, I quit looking for fear of getting
electricuted without anyone else knowing. I called the number of the
water service that Winnie posted at the kitchen cork board but only
answering machine was on the other end of the line so I called Heather
thinking she might know a number to call for emergency plumbing. Heather
told me that the valve to the tank is usually on the top. I reached it
to turn both of the valves on the top and the pressure of the jetting
went down. I then unplugged the electrical cords attached to the wall
when the water spraying was down. I had the chance then to get close and
read the emergency shutdown instructions posted on the tank. I followed
the instructions - turned off the gas, I looked for a circuit breaker
but didn't find one. The heating tank is purely gas powered, right? The
next step was to drain the tank and when I tried to turn the tank drain
faucet knob open at the bottom of the tank, where the leak was jetting
out in the first place, the whole faucet just came off the tank. The end
of the faucet the broke of from the tank was corroded, probably the
reason for the leak. Then I drained the tank by opening the hot water
faucets at the sinks in the kitchen and grandma's bathroom to let air in
the tank. After about an hour and 45 minutes, the tank is still draining
hence I'm still here watching the tank drain as I empty the catch basin
one after the other. The process is so slowed so I had the time to write
this email on my blackberry in between bucket emptying. The electrical
meter box on the left side of the wall is dry and running so I left it
alone but the black electrical box below is wet. The power cord attached
to that box is already unplugged. Other than the leak, I don't think
there are any other property damage. When the tank finish draining, all
I need to do is just mop the floor. There's a number to call on the
emergency instructions for fast service but I thought it can probably
wait until tomorrow morning. I wanted to check with you first if I
should call Dan or the number on the tank. There's a number specific for
Mercer Island printed there. I think the main problem is just the
replacement of the drain faucet but the tank heating system might need
some checking also. Nate is not home yet. If the problem is not fixed by
tomorrow, I'll call him to let him know that there's no hot water in the
big house at the moment. I'm sorry to tell the bad news. I hope that's
the last. I'm also so thankful that this did not happen in the middle
of the night and bacame a shocker for me in the morning!

Best Regards, Ed
Sent via BlackBerry Mobile by AT&T

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posted by Hills @ 10:03 PM 0 comments

January 29, 2008 (Personal)

We have visiting Samoa and Tonga since I last wrote. The first word I would use to describe both would be humid. Carter’s camera lens fogs up every time he takes it outside, as do our glasses. Samoa is a volcanic island, so very hilly, and Tonga is flat as a pancake. Both are lush with vegetation and populated by very friendly people.

When we were on Samoa, the ship brought in a local youth group to do a performance. They had mainly teen-agers, but they also had some really young children who were learning the dances and songs. These young ones were adorable. You could see that the entire experience was very supportive for the 5-8 year olds. Sometimes they went the wrong way, but that was ok. Part of the show was the cava ceremony, which is something they do for honored guests. They take the powder of a cava root (from the pepper family), grind it up, then reconstitute it in water and serve it as a drink. The drink is on the alcoholic/hallucinogenic side. Carter and I had this ceremony performed for us when we were in Fiji, so it brought back tons of memories. You are handed a coconut cup of this liquid and are expected to down the whole thing at once. It tastes like drinking mud, so I sipped only a little, but was then told I had to drink the entire cupful. I had to will my gag reflex away, but managed. In the true ceremony, they keep filling the cups and passing them around until the entire bowl of liquid is gone. Luckily, we were with Peace Corps workers and they told me how to politely refuse. Carter, however, just kept drinking and before the end of the evening, he was giving lectures on his camera. It was an experience!

In Tonga, we did not take a tour because we had limited time. Some of the passengers were very frustrated because their tours were less than acceptable. One group, on a Holland America sponsored tour had their non-air conditioned bus get stuck in the mud, then stuck in traffic, because whoever was organizing the tours told all of the buses to go on the same route at the same time. The 3 hour tour ended up 6 hours. This was a problem for those with diabetes and those unable to deal with the heat. I was glad I wasn’t on that tour.

Then we spoke with another couple who decided to go on a non-Holland America sponsored tour. They said their tour guide spoke excellent English, put about 8 of them in a mini-bus and drove for a short while giving a great commentary. Then he pulled over on the side of the road next to another car. The bus driver and the car driver then exchanged places and the new driver drove them for the rest of the tour. Unfortunately, the new driver spoke NO English. Once they got back close to town, the original driver came back on to finished the tour. Some of the passengers were irate, but the young couple we were speaking with said that it was ok. They didn’t pay that much for the tour to begin with and did get some commentary as they went along.

We exchanged a little money in Tonga and had a snack at a local restaurant. Carter drank something like a smoothie made with Tongan ice!!!! I had a Coke that they served warm with a chilled glass. That was interesting. I did NOT use ice.

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posted by Hills @ 5:06 PM 0 comments