When I rolled out of bed just now to start my day (OK, I admit that I’ve been awake for a few hours but lying abed and finishing a book I started yesterday), Tod sleepily asked me to turn up the heat.
The front panel of the heater was blinking. That’s an indication to me that there is no gas. No wonder it was chilly in the room.
In this earthquake-prone country there are all sorts of safety features built into the infrastructure. One of them is that when the gas meter feels a jolt, it shuts itself off. Much of the destruction in earthquake disasters is caused by fires, so it makes sense to cut the flow of combustibles.
But we didn’t have an earthquake last night. I double checked on the Internet. Not a tremor or a tremble. Rock solid. Maybe a heavy truck rumbled past on the street. They sometimes confuse the meter.
Regardless of the cause, I must go out and reset the meter. There are instructions permanently attached, but it’s pretty easy. Look for the blinking red lamp, press the button until it stops blinking and then wait three minutes.
I’m already looking forward to a warm room and a hot shower.
