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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Channeling the Pioneers

Last night, the weather gods conspired with the power nymphs and took away my electricity for a staggering 2 1/2 hours. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to entertain a grown woman with ADD for that long? Oh yeah... did I fail to mention that Puff is in Charleston on business, so I was home ALONE????
 
My original plan for the evening, to keep me entertained, was to upload trip photos, update my Ipod, iron next week's clothes, and catch up on "16 and Pregnant." But then 6:40pm hit and all hell broke loose. As in, my lights flickered, but came back on. But then they went out for good. Although my ceiling fan light in the spare room kept flickering even as the other lights were totally out and I could've sworn they were about to spark. The last thing I needed was a house fire. Although, I suppose it would've kept me busy and out of trouble.
 
Texts to Mike, Kimhead, and Puff kept me busy for a short while. Eventually, I found myself laying on the bed, watching the storm, wearing as few clothes as possible (ya know... since the power was out and therefore, no AC) and literally twiddling my thumbs. I lit a candle but didn't need it for anything. Why? Because I had no magazines. No newspaper. No books I hadn't already read. No word find or crossword puzzles. I was about to bust out "Life" and see if I could successfully play myself in a board game.
 
A moment of brilliance struck me when I realized the elliptical was battery operated, so I worked out by candle light. I realized it wasn't the wisest move in the world when I was soaked in sweat and there was no way to cool off. The wind was blowing the rain so hard, I couldn't open the windows to let in some breeze. I went back to laying alone and helpless and pitiful in the bed. Another moment of brilliance struck when I realized the laundry room was bright enough from the outside light to do... well, something? I reorganized our grocery list and rewrote it in aisle order. Twice. Thank you, ADD and OCD for co-sponsoring this moment.
 
I'm pretty sure, right about then, is when I started creating the "I love electricity" song and dance number. The choreography was rock star.
 
A 30 minute phone call to Kimhead to catch up on life was a good time-waster. (Not that talking to her was a waste. You know what I mean!) Finally, I threw on a bra and some shoes and ducked out in the heavy sprinkle to drive around the neighborhood. At least there was air conditioning in the car. I figured out where the power came back on in either direction from our street. And popped into a Walgreens to buy a much-needed magazine. I had no idea how much longer I'd be without power and it was way too early to go to bed!
 
By the time I got home, the rain had fizzled away for the most part, although then the house started to creak. I'm not good with being home alone anyway, so the lack of ability to create ambient noise was blowing my mind. I jumped out of bed every time I heard something out of the ordinary. Eventually, I settled in with my trashy gossip magazine, leaning awkwardly out of the bed to have the candlelight hit it just enough to actually be able to read it. About halfway through, I heard a crazy weird noise. Of course, I jumped up. But oh, what a good noise it turned out to be!
 
Earlier, when the ceiling light threatened fire, I had gone around and turned off all the lightswitches that had been on. So when the power came back on, I would not have even known had my printer not gone haywire and tried to reset itself. That was the crazy weird noise! I'm pretty sure the happiness that overcame me in that moment was palatable to our neighbors.
 
Candles blown out, TV back on, phone call from Puff... I rounded out the evening in grand style... with every light on in the house! It did teach me a few things... Like I need to create a stockpile of magazines or books for such occasions. And it showed me that I can survive without power. I just might not come out with any sanity on the other end.

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