Down and out in Boston: A resident's lament, sans gas

(Editor's note: The gas outage in downtown Boston doesn't just affect businesses and restaurants. Here's a resident's take on a life put on hold.).

By Paula Nelson, Globe Staff

So, it's Day 5 without a hot shower in my own apartment. No gas service. No clear end in sight.
And no one to tell me just when I might be able to turn that shower spigot back on, to wash and dry my laundry, or to cook some of the $200 worth of groceries I bought last Friday night.

But thankfully as The Globe said today, Mayor Thomas Menino is "satisfied with the pace of the service restoration."

I spent the first night in my apartment in the Financial District hoping for the best. The second and third nights at the Doubletree at $150 a night. That was a "special" rate. No one can seem to tell me if I'll get that money back.

I spent the fourth night in my apartment, wanting to try to correct the crick in my neck from the too-soft hotel mattress, then going to a friend's apartment for a hot shower before work this morning.

Now, I'm waiting to hear anything from anybody about what I'll be doing tonight. Such a great adventure (dripping sarcasm).

They actually replaced the gas meters in the basement of the building where I live on Water Street. But the gauges, as I understand it, need to be replaced next. It's unclear who is supposed to do that; at one point National Grid said they would have someone do it, but they have since advised that we should have a plumber take care of it.

Even after they are replaced, the lines between the gauges and the appliances need to be bled of water. There is no gas flowing to my appliances at this point, including my beautiful Thermador oven. If that water got into the beautiful Thermador oven, then that will need to be replaced. Who's responsible for that?

As I mentioned, the meters were actually replaced late yesterday, yet my landlord Michael got a call from National Grid at 1:30 this morning telling him to open the building so that they could replace the meters! Who's in charge of this whole thing? He told them that they had already replaced the meters. Sigh.

I guess I'll try to make my way to the third floor of City Hall, where they have set up a window or something for residents to bring their complaints and sad stories. I'll bring my hotel bills. But I'm running out of clean underwear, what do I do then?

Paula Nelson is the Globe's director of photography.

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