Outage

A few Sundays ago, in the morning, I was sitting on the toilet bowl and minding my business, and suddenly I heard a big bang. It gave me a fright. I look down and everything looks fine and intact. It was not me.

I hollered to the wife “Did you hear the bang”?

She replied “Yeah”.

“Do you know where the sound is from”? I asked

“No, dear” she replied.

5 minute later.

She said “We got no electric power; the electric kettle is not working”.
“Never mind, boil water in the pot over the gas stove, lah”, I replied
“Ok, lah”, she replied sweetly.

I came out of the toilet and peep out the window at the neighbour houses and they all look quiet.

“Hey wife, I think we got power failure. Don’t worry, it will be restored in 20 minutes”, I shouted.

Note:

We seldom have power failure and if it does, it is always restored between 20 minutes.

“Can we take a day off from Church since there is no power”, I asked.

“No, we better go or God will not be happy with us”, she replied.

So we walk to church since it was a beautiful Autumn day. Church is only 10 minute away of leisure walk or 5 minute drive. When we were near the Church, we can hear singing. It is the church band practicing.

Strange, I said “No electric power, the band can play electric guitar, bass, keyboard and the song leader singing into the microphone. Wah, God is making sure I don’t get a day off”.

She laughed.

So we had a great time in church. After church we asked a few friends who live around us, if they have any power failure. “No”, they replied.

We came home and there was still no electric power.

“Strange”, I thought. I walked over to my neighbour on the right and rang the doorbell.

“Cho San” I greeted my Hong Kong Chinese neighbour when she open her front door. I asked “Lay Ok Keay yau tin, mah”? (Does your house have electric power)? She replied, “Yau”. (Yes).

So I explain to her, my house has got no electric power.

Thanking her, I walk to my left neighbour.

Before I could ring the door bell, my German neighbour, opened the door. “Hello, how are you”, he asked. I told him I am fine and wanted to find out if he has electric power in his house. He replied “Yep”.

Mystified, I rang my electric supplier and explain the situation to person manning the phone. I told him about the big bang, I heard this morning. “No worry” he replied, “we get someone there in 20 minutes. Sure enough in 20 minutes the first truck arrived and the electrician bought the ladder out and proceeded to look for the fault. He, then, rang for assistance and within 20 minutes another electrician arrived. Between them and a few chit chat in between they replaced the cable from the street pole to house and a new big fuse. The electric cable was shorted out, blowing out the fuse, and, thus causing the big bang. In all, it took them 45 minutes from the time they arrived to restore power to the house, with a cup of coffee in within.

That is what I call service.