Water Water Everywhere but WTF is going on

Our water heater is on the fritz, or something, but not fritzy enough for me to call my landlord and wag my finger and stomp my foot. Should I be a grumpus about a lukewarm shower, when there are children in Africa who shower in the crick? The answer is yes, and STFU. 


A lot of times, (ESPECIALLY in the winter), I like to crank up the shower to '11' for a few seconds, when I'm almost done, hoping to create a "warmth cloud" (I believe this is a scientific term) to follow me back to my freezing room. I don't think this is too much to ask, and up until two weeks ago, my warmth buffer was as reliable as the sunrise. Well kids, Cinderella was right. 


Now, before you get on your high horse and start pointing the fingers at me, let's get two things straight. First, I take fast showers, like, less than 10 minutes fast. This was instilled in me at a young age when we had water problems the likes of which have not been seen since the Great Depression, or some drought I didn't feel like looking up on Wikipedia. I grew accustomed to "showering" via bowls of lukewarm water, or, on the rare occasion that we had water, showering so fast that when I left for school I had to touch my hair to remember if I had bathed. Thankfully, my parents sprung for a new well and all has been right with the world since. Second, I am taking said showers at 6am, so the chance that someone else is also using the shower in my house OR that I am using all the hot water is virtually nil. 


Here are the steps I have taken to resolve this issue so far:


-Talked to my roommate JL and verified that the water is indeed "not hot".
-Considered calling the landlord after another unsatisfactory shower experience.
-Looked up a picture of a water heater
-Looked up the Wiki for "water heating"
-Got Intimidated (why that is the first picture for 'intimidate' I do not know)
-Conceived this blog post


Hot water is a basic human right, like Starbucks, HD, and the snooze button. We are in America, not The Congo, damnit. I don't fork over hard-earned money to the government fortnightly so I can live in fear of my shower knobs. If I avoid ONE shower because I am scared that the warm water will run out and I will scream bloody murder, then the terrorists have won.


Praise Allah for my electric blanket, I know it will never let me down. Right?.....RIGHT?