Last night I was on my way home from the annual family birthday gala for me and Amanda. All had a great time though I really should have taken some cheese bread home. Highlight: As we were getting ready to leave, my aunt found a slice of cheese bread in her purse. No one knows how it got there other than some hyena like ravaging of the basket of bread when it was delivered.
So I am driving home in a huge lightning storm over OC. There are bolts everywhere and I distinctly remember as I was getting closer and closer to my apartment that I could feel the static electricity in the atmosphere. It got so bad I could feel the hair on my arms standing up. There were a couple "Holy Crap" moments as I kept eyeballing the lights and trees to make sure I had some cover. As I approached my street I saw the police were out with flares. At first I thought it was just another accident with a lame-o OC driver who doesn't know how to drive when it starts to rain.
It was then I noticed that all the streetlights and stoplights were out. At first I was wondering how I was going to get into the electric gate at home, but it most have a blackout override since it was wide open. Sure enough, my apartment was blacked out. I rummaged around for my mini-Maglite I use for work and then went to get the votive candle lantern I keep in the bathroom for emergencies (usually the olfactory ones, but for blackouts too..honest). It was then I realized that I am woefully unprepared for an extended blackout or loss of service. Sure my laptop had power, but there was no Internet (gasp!) Worse yet, I realized I didn't have any extra batteries. So tomorrow after work I am going to get some batteries for the big Maglite, a large bag of votive candles, and a battery powered travel alarm - just in case I need to get up for work with no power.
Thankfully before looting started, the power came back on after an hour and I went back into normal mode. One thing I like about blackouts - the lack of ambient electronic noise. Ahhh reminds me of Snoqualmie.
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