Hot Water Troubles

I was lying in my bed Saturday evening playing some video games. I had the kerosene heater beside me going strong and a kettle on top of it with hot water ready to go for cocoa and tea. Generally, I get up to pour a new glass, but Saturday it was especially cold and I didn't feel like getting out from under the covers. I placed the cup in my lap and proceeded to pour the hot water in gingerly, so as not to spill any. Then out of nowhere my left hand slipped and my thumb went flying into the glass. Since this was freshly boiled water I ended up giving my left thumb a pretty good second degree burn. As a result of the shock I ended up flipping my mug, spilling tea all over my blanket which ended up scalding my left leg as well. Since the tea leaves were loose in a strainer over the mug they scattered across my bed and floor as well. Luckily, there was no staining on my blanket and clean-up was relatively easy even if my finger was killing me for the rest of the day.

Today when I woke up I was freezing. It must have easily been the coldest night this winter and my core temperature was way down. I headed to the shower as per my usual routine only to find when I turned on the hot water nothing came out. The cold water worked fine, but not a single drop from the hot side. I checked both my sinks to confirm but it was much the same. With no real options and a cold shower out of the question I scrubbed down a few key areas and took a small French bath. The water is working fine now though so it makes sense to assume the pipe froze up overnight and thawed out during the day. It seems like this is a fairly common occurance over here as no one was surprised by my lack of hot water when I told them. Most Japanese bathe at night so not having hot water in the morning may only be a minor inconvenience, if they even notice, but for a morning bather like myself it's a crippling blow, especially when you need to get your core temp up quick. I only had 2 classes today though, so after they were over I spent the rest of the day in the properly heated staff room.