Ye olden days
The way some people reacted, you'd swear we were living in a hurricane alley.
Massive storms lashed the city over the weekend. We're talking 160km/h winds, big-ass hail stones, falling trees, overturned cars, peeled roofs, the works. Our area lost power around midday on Saturday, right in the worst of it. I have six cuts down my right wrist and two on my right index finger (I'm like the world's worst emo) thanks to the rope that got away from me; we'd been trying to lash down some of the things on the back deck.
LJ was unbearably cute during the blackout - she put on a brave face but made sure she was never more than a metre away from one of us. Just in case, you understand. Others weren't anywhere near as praiseworthy. Demonstrating the very best in civic spirit, some of the locals tried to ransack the corner Subway restaurant. By breaking the window. With a shopping cart. Yeah.
The power came back on five or so hours later. In our area, anyway - everyone on the other side of the highway stayed blacked out until this morning. And, because the telephone exchange is over there, too, no one had any telecommunications until... oh, about three hours ago.
Can you imagine stareyednight without internet access for two-and-a-half days? Oh, it was adorable. She looked like a little, lost kitten, staring sadly at her computer. The 'net junkie did the best she could with her inhaler (smart phone) and methadone (long-untouched PC games), and was clearly relieved to rejoin cyberspace this evening.
Me? I actually found the whole experience a lot of fun. We lit candles around the house and had battery-operated lamps ready to go, we ate take-out, we listened to the rain on the roof, told lots of jokes and played lots of games. The house was quiet, in the sense that it felt less busy. An all-consuming sense of disconnect I've not experienced since I went north on a train, more than five years ago. It was relaxing, truth to tell, to be that isolated again, just for a little while.
I'd not wish a blackout on my girls again, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I enjoyed it.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
Massive storms lashed the city over the weekend. We're talking 160km/h winds, big-ass hail stones, falling trees, overturned cars, peeled roofs, the works. Our area lost power around midday on Saturday, right in the worst of it. I have six cuts down my right wrist and two on my right index finger (I'm like the world's worst emo) thanks to the rope that got away from me; we'd been trying to lash down some of the things on the back deck.
LJ was unbearably cute during the blackout - she put on a brave face but made sure she was never more than a metre away from one of us. Just in case, you understand. Others weren't anywhere near as praiseworthy. Demonstrating the very best in civic spirit, some of the locals tried to ransack the corner Subway restaurant. By breaking the window. With a shopping cart. Yeah.
The power came back on five or so hours later. In our area, anyway - everyone on the other side of the highway stayed blacked out until this morning. And, because the telephone exchange is over there, too, no one had any telecommunications until... oh, about three hours ago.
Can you imagine stareyednight without internet access for two-and-a-half days? Oh, it was adorable. She looked like a little, lost kitten, staring sadly at her computer. The 'net junkie did the best she could with her inhaler (smart phone) and methadone (long-untouched PC games), and was clearly relieved to rejoin cyberspace this evening.
Me? I actually found the whole experience a lot of fun. We lit candles around the house and had battery-operated lamps ready to go, we ate take-out, we listened to the rain on the roof, told lots of jokes and played lots of games. The house was quiet, in the sense that it felt less busy. An all-consuming sense of disconnect I've not experienced since I went north on a train, more than five years ago. It was relaxing, truth to tell, to be that isolated again, just for a little while.
I'd not wish a blackout on my girls again, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I enjoyed it.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF