there is something rather heralding about the calling of customer service on your own behalf. it is less work when you call for someone else though and truthfully more fun. when you call for someone else your emotions don't tangle up the conversation and you don't come unglued as easily, your vision of logic remains in tact and you don't become as personally involved in it. this wasn't the case in this particular case.

i was faced with a situation a little less functional or easily handled. the concept of having your heat and electricity turned off is something one might have imagined or thought of at one point or another in their life. you would consider something like this to happen to someone that is potentially poor or neglectful. the truth is that it actually takes a while for this to go into practice. there are notes with big red stamped letters warning you that this type of thing could actually happen. there is ample warning. people call you and let you know that you essentially suck at life and that you'd better pay...or else. or else your shit gets turned off and you end up talking on a payphone outside the local video store (in this case "video world" that one of my former roomates worked at and ganked many a vcr tape for our viewing pleasure) across from your apartment complex. there is something that i need to really give huge accolades to don for. he was able to field the phone calls and even intercept all of the mail in regards to the electric bill and even the eviction notices on the door. later i found some of them stashed under the seat cushions of the couch where the playboys he ripped off from other peoples mailboxes were also.

so i called detroit edison and spoke with shanice. she seemed nice enough at first. i explained my situation and she emotionlessly explained that i would need to pay all of the money owed plus a fee to turn the shit back on. i politely told her that it wasn't my fault and that i had paid my roomate the money and that he claimed to have paid it. she said that this kind of thing wasn't her problem and that i should take it up with my roomate...if i even had one.
"listen shanice, i have a roomate. his name is don and i've been friends with him since first grade." i said.
"that's nice sir, i'm sure that you do and i'm sure that he had all of the best intentions to pay the bills too." she returned.

now at this point in my life i trusted don. i had no reason not to really. this was before the insurgence of all things fucked.. and i figured that he wouldn't take a shit on me like he was truly doing.