I have learned that it is a experience the every home owner has, if it isn't broken now just wait a while.
This past June when I got home from Africa at 1am I wanted a nice hot shower. Come to find out my water heater had gone out after only a year. The next morning I tried to relight the pilot but it was a no go. I called the manufacture and they told me that they would send out a new gas control valve but that there were no plumbers in my area to replace it, I told them that I could take care of it so they sent it out. This was on a Tuesday morning.
I tracked the package that was shipped FedEx next day to see it hit my local FedEx warehouse on Thursday. Friday it was out for delivery, I waited all day Friday and it never showed, that evening I checked and it was back at the warehouse for delivery the next day. Well, the next day was Monday. Monday I waited all day and at 8pm it was finally delivered. I opened the box only to find that the igniter was broken off of the control valve. The next morning Tuesday I called the company back and the tech said that I could swap the igniter from my old valve to the new one, I told them that I wanted a new one after waiting a week.
They shipped out a new one that afternoon with next day delivery. I finally received it that Thursday night at 8 pm. It was installed by 8:30 and I had hot water at 10 pm for a nice hot shower after a week and a half.
Did I say that home ownership is fun at times?