I am sitting here with my laptop plugged in and rice boiling on the stove. The radio is playing and I can see the rain falling in the lit up garden. Everything seems normal yes? Not really! See, this time last week I came home after working late and all I wanted was a cup of tea and a hot bath. Except I came home to a house plunged into darkness. The City of Cape Town had caught up with me and they were not going to accept half payments. No way! After all, I live in Claremont and everyone in Claremont should be able to afford their electricity and rates. And God help you if you fall behind. Because they KNOW where you live.
OK, I take responsibility for not paying the bill when I should've, but some months I just didn’t have the R300 for electricity. Then when you get a bill for R600 the following month it becomes even worse. So I buried my silly head in the sand and hoped I would amass enough money to pay it before they came a calling. Alas, I didn’t. So I got a letter in my postbox demanding money within a week (it was dated at the beginning of the month, but it must’ve got lost in the mail or the accounts office). So I paid half, phoned and explained and got told (very politely I might add) “that it was too late and they could cut me off at any given moment.” Which of course, they did. Sometimes it sucks living in suburbia.
But then again it actually doesn’t. And in my suburban little world, I have neighbours that have become good friends. Such good friends that they even let me take their 9 year old daughter out on kid-friendly excursions and on walks with my dogs (Mom Friend says that’s amazing as she wouldn’t trust her neighbor – or me probably - to take care of her daughter) . They give me tins of tuna for the cats. Heck, they are so awesome that they even feed me on occasion. So who were the first people I ran to? Awesome Neighbours….
Before I could say “Please help me with this blasted gas canister so I can cook camping-style” they sat me down, cooked up a steak dinner AND gave me a beer. Then they threw an extension cord over the wall so I could plug in my fridge and not lose my food on top of it all. Awesome Neighbours are awesome. Fridge purred away as if nothing had happened, I could boil the kettle for tea, make toast and even had a lamp for light in the evening. It was all quite cosy to be honest.
And that is how I lived for a week. My friends who knew about the debacle were awesome too. I showered at Slappy’s, at Monster’s and at Awesome Neighbours. I had a little Bath Bag that I kept packed with get-clean basics and I would either chuck it in the boot when visiting friends, or take it next door. I lived on toast and tea and occasionally boiled pasta on my gas cooker. I watched Downton Abbey on my laptop... To be honest I would get into my bed at the end of the day, thank The Universe for my Awesome Neighbours and quietly show my middle finger at “the system”.
But you can’t live off the goodness of others forever, so I worked hard, luckily got some shoots and managed to get the money together for the rest of the electricity bill (which of course now had R500 reconnection fee added onto it). With much pride I went to the Post Office to pay and got chatting to the Post Office lady who was taking my wad of money. Just before I left I said “Great! Now I can get my electricity reconnected.” She looked at me with wide eyes and said “Eish, you got cut?” followed by “What did you do?” When I told her about my Awesome Neighbours and the extension cord she smiled broadly, give me a high five and said “Township styles!” It was one of the greatest moments of my life. There we were, two people from completely opposite sides of the social sphere sharing a common bond. We both knew about living “township styles” and how to beat the system.
So now it’s back to normal… No more camping in my own home (I always knew the gas cooker and the hoarding of candles would be useful). I have also learnt a few things from this…
- Pay your electricity (because they WILL cut you off).
- A plan can always be made (even if it is township styles).
- Be grateful for your friends (who will always try help you out if you tell them your problems).
- Get to know your neighbours (you never know when you may need them and they could become Awesome Neighbours and good friends).
And now I am off to fetch my Bath Bag, pack it away and go have a bath. In my own bath, with HOT water and with the light ON. Dear Universe - please don’t let the bulb blow now…
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