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fatrockstarMy computer has been on for less than an hour. I shut it down in anticipation of the windstorm that hit our area on Thursday night. In some areas the wind sped by at 130 mph. We lost power at about 1130 p.m. that night.
Grady and I were home alone that night (Garret was at a training event for work) and neither of us slept. I burned out the D batteries in the big flashlight because the wind howling scared the shite out of me. There was no way I was going to sit in the pitch black dark with that noise going on. Did we have backup? No. Once in a while we'd hear the crack of branches -- scary! -- and I worried my neighbor's tree would come crashing through the bedroom ceiling. That didn't happen. Whew.
I found a store of AA batteries and a couple of smaller flashlights the next day that carried us through the weekend. No power, but the gas lines were working. I was able to cook a large pot of chicken soup. It was the least I could do considering I was going to lose everything in my refrigerator and freezer in the next 24 hours. That soup lasted us through the weekend.
I found the portable DVD player and tried to watch a movie at one point. The battery wasn't fully charged so I only got through half of "The Oh in Ohio." I did manage to write up a couple of letters to my friends overseas and finish up most of my Christmas cards, which was good. I say most because my address book has a few crucial entries on my COMPUTER, which, of course, was nonfunctional.
It got really cold. Garret came home okay, which was good. He wasn't terribly interesting, though. All he wanted to do was read and I wanted to play a game, talk, or listen to the radio. It's no wonder I had a breakdown by Sunday. Let's face it, I would never survive a nuclear winter. This was as close as this city girl could stand it.
Eventually one of us needed to go get food. I called the Safeway down the street to see if they had power and was told they were open with limited services. This meant that the deli, the freezers, the butcher, the dairy case, and most of the produce section were empty and not functioning. Registers were all on battery backup, and the manager had set up a grill station by the front door for anyone wanting something hot to eat or drink.
Garret and I got my car out of the garage and I headed to the Safeway. It was apparent they had no power. Inside the door there were a couple of clerks handing out battery-operated lanterns to customers and informing them about the cold cases. I got my lantern, grabbed a basket, and went in. My list was pretty modest. I was expecting there to be big empty shelves in place of the items I wanted. Instead, the only empty shelves were for the sale items. I lucked out.
It was chipping away at my hope to peek out of my window and see nothing but the thick of night. Once in a while a car would come down the road. Through the numerous trees in my neighborhood their headlights reminded me of a bad 80's horror movie about summer camp. The temperature kept dropping and I worried about my turtle (he's okay, by the way).
When I finally ventured out to find gasoline and run an errand I discovered that power had been restored a mile South of us. Lines for gas at most of the filling stations were still rather long. The radio was still "informing" us that some of the outlying areas might not get power until Christmas. Garret called me on my way home to tell me we had our power back, and I let out a big WHOOP in his ear.
It was a tough few days. Looks like I've got a mild internet addiction I need to take care of. It might also help if I learn how to camp, or at least some basic survival skills. Good thing I married an Eagle scout. Although it would have been much easier for me mentally if he just played some gawdam Scrabble with me, y'know?
Grady and I were home alone that night (Garret was at a training event for work) and neither of us slept. I burned out the D batteries in the big flashlight because the wind howling scared the shite out of me. There was no way I was going to sit in the pitch black dark with that noise going on. Did we have backup? No. Once in a while we'd hear the crack of branches -- scary! -- and I worried my neighbor's tree would come crashing through the bedroom ceiling. That didn't happen. Whew.
I found a store of AA batteries and a couple of smaller flashlights the next day that carried us through the weekend. No power, but the gas lines were working. I was able to cook a large pot of chicken soup. It was the least I could do considering I was going to lose everything in my refrigerator and freezer in the next 24 hours. That soup lasted us through the weekend.
I found the portable DVD player and tried to watch a movie at one point. The battery wasn't fully charged so I only got through half of "The Oh in Ohio." I did manage to write up a couple of letters to my friends overseas and finish up most of my Christmas cards, which was good. I say most because my address book has a few crucial entries on my COMPUTER, which, of course, was nonfunctional.
It got really cold. Garret came home okay, which was good. He wasn't terribly interesting, though. All he wanted to do was read and I wanted to play a game, talk, or listen to the radio. It's no wonder I had a breakdown by Sunday. Let's face it, I would never survive a nuclear winter. This was as close as this city girl could stand it.
Eventually one of us needed to go get food. I called the Safeway down the street to see if they had power and was told they were open with limited services. This meant that the deli, the freezers, the butcher, the dairy case, and most of the produce section were empty and not functioning. Registers were all on battery backup, and the manager had set up a grill station by the front door for anyone wanting something hot to eat or drink.
Garret and I got my car out of the garage and I headed to the Safeway. It was apparent they had no power. Inside the door there were a couple of clerks handing out battery-operated lanterns to customers and informing them about the cold cases. I got my lantern, grabbed a basket, and went in. My list was pretty modest. I was expecting there to be big empty shelves in place of the items I wanted. Instead, the only empty shelves were for the sale items. I lucked out.
It was chipping away at my hope to peek out of my window and see nothing but the thick of night. Once in a while a car would come down the road. Through the numerous trees in my neighborhood their headlights reminded me of a bad 80's horror movie about summer camp. The temperature kept dropping and I worried about my turtle (he's okay, by the way).
When I finally ventured out to find gasoline and run an errand I discovered that power had been restored a mile South of us. Lines for gas at most of the filling stations were still rather long. The radio was still "informing" us that some of the outlying areas might not get power until Christmas. Garret called me on my way home to tell me we had our power back, and I let out a big WHOOP in his ear.
It was a tough few days. Looks like I've got a mild internet addiction I need to take care of. It might also help if I learn how to camp, or at least some basic survival skills. Good thing I married an Eagle scout. Although it would have been much easier for me mentally if he just played some gawdam Scrabble with me, y'know?
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18/12/06 22:32 (UTC)no subject
19/12/06 13:45 (UTC)