In case you missed Year One's gas drama, click through and come back.
So last year the problem with my heater never really got fixed correctly. I still smelled something (natural gas according to the gas co.) when my heater started up, but then it would vanish. I just gave up trying to have them fix it correctly after two failed attempts and sleeping on a too-small loveseat. All it did was give me high blood pressure and anxiety every time the heater would kick on. The rumble of the heater kicking on, the wait for the click/whoosh, and the fan kicking on a minute later. I spent 2 1/2 months on edge praying for spring and warm temps. I envisioned us exploding in our sleep, or worse a fire breaking out in the closet and us getting burned up and barely surviving it. I had trouble sleeping in the bedroom knowing the heater was in there with us. I would wake up from a dead sleep when I'd hear it turn on. It was a bad winter to say the least.
This year when the temps dipped I had no choice but to turn the dread heater on. I had hoped to move before I had to do it, but things didn't work out as planned. Let me just give a big "fuck you" to the ex on that one. Pay your child support dickhead! So it got too cold not have heat and I got sick and needed warmth. I went and turned on the gas to the heater, and waited out the burnt dust smell. Then I couldn't smell anything for over two weeks because of being sick. That didn't stop me from stressing out when the heat would kick on. Or not being able to sleep at night. Or sleeping on the too-small loveseat that leaves me with pain and headaches the next day. Noah has been sleeping in the living room like it's some kind of camp out. So much for that sleep schedule we were working on. This would be the time where I wish I had a man around to confirm there's a problem or to take care of it while I'm sick. The problem with my car tire being the other.
Now why didn't I just call the gas company out again to check it if I was unsure about a leak? Because I have two closets in my apartment. The bedroom being the one packed completely with heavy boxes and random stuff. I couldn't move things out of the closet when I could barely breathe or get off the couch with sickness. So having the gas company turn off my heat when I can't even clear the way to the heater to be fixed, doesn't solve my problem. That makes it worse. Blowing up in an explosion would seriously suck too, but as I found out today, maintenance wouldn't come out unless the gas company confirmed a problem! Nice right. Just adding to the list of reasons to move, when I know I can't.
So I get my sense of smell back for the first time in weeks, and I confirm I am definitely smelling something. I was able to move everything out of the closet, but now my bed is full of clothes. It's just ridiculous. Back to the loveseat I guess. Maintenance said the gas company had to be called first, the gas co. employee was the same as last year! LOL He was funny and totally on my side. Apparently my heater doesn't even kick on quick enough so it's a combination of problems. Lovely. My managment company was not thrilled that I called back for service, then the maintenance guy went in there, opened the window all the way freezing us, and tinkered around in there. He even tried to act like it was just a relay problem causing a delay and not a gas problem!!! Then said the gas company's equipment is so sensitive that it goes off even if it's not gas!!!!! Basically he said there's a 'clog' causing the delay in it turning on and the heating company will be out (hopefully he meant in the morning). If we blow up, this is the proof that they're lying and my family should sue.
The worst part is that my anxiety is at max levels. I actually visibly flinched when I was in the bedroom and the click/woosh sound happened right by my head! My stomach drops when I hear the buzz of the heater that means that I'm going to hear the click & whoosh before the fan starts. My bedroom is a safety hazard for my child with everything stacked up in there. I feel like the heating company isn't going to fix it. They tried twice last year and it's still a problem. I'm so freaked out and it's no wonder it took me three weeks to get better with all this stress. I almost feel worse after they mess with it since I don't trust them to fix it right. I almost feel like, as with my car, that after they mess with it it'll just be more messed up and more likely to blow up if they did it wrong, again. *sighs*
I obviously can't live like this and need to move, but I'm stuck and that's what makes it worse. So I'm just taking it day by day. We'll just see what happens in the morning.
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