Well That Was Cute

Apparently power outages are a common occurrence around here.  What is this, Cuba?  According to my source, the freaky weather that plows through this prairie will down wires on the regular, and some of the sub stations that serve the town are set out in remote areas, thus impeding quick repairs.  But the subtext is that taxes are almost nonexistent here, so the infrastructure is just all-around abysmal.  Um, that's nice, but I pay for my electricity, and I would gladly pay some more taxes if it meant having paved roads and consistent power (and maybe a real job, and health insurance...need I go on?).

This windstorm started to pick up last evening.  By the time I left work at 7:30, it was roaring pretty good.  I labored to stagger home directly into the wind, and probably burned a ton of extra calories in the process.  All in all, not a bad deal.  By 10 or so, things were getting crazy.  All through the night, high winds between 45-85 mph, hail, thunder, and lightning assaulted the area.  I slept through most of it, go figure.

Fast forward to 5:50 am.  My cell phone alarm went off, so I jumped out of bed and scurried to the bathroom before the shock of cold air had time to dampen my resolve to stay out of bed.  There was a problem, however, as the bathroom light wouldn't come on.  The power was out.  Fantastic.

The last time the power went out, our light switches didn't work even after the power came back on, because a breaker was tripped.  So Andy grabbed his dorky useful headlamp and checked out the situation.  There was nothing we could do, as our entire neighborhood was blanketed in darkness save for the distant glow of a few street lamps shining down on us from the campus proper.  Incidentally, the last time the power went out for an hour or so, it was a completely clear day.  We later learned that a moldy utility pole had fallen over and taken the wires with it.  I repeat:  taxes are not always a bad thing.

Since the campus seemed to have power, and that's where I was working today, I realized I was going to have to pull up my big girl panties (if I could find them in the dark) and make myself presentable.  I found two candles to take in the bathroom with me, and set about investigating the water situation.  The toilet flushed.  So far so good.  Water in the sink was running...and....we had hot water!  There was no telling how long the hot water was going to last, as I can't imagine that the hot water heater doesn't run on electricity.  A potentially ice cold shower by candlelight just wasn't an option, so I settled for washing my face. 

I was not happy about this at ALL.  I am sort of OCD about personal hygiene, and I also don't feel fully awake until I shower.  Something about being pelted in the face with a forceful stream of water that you just can't replicate by bending over the sink.

Washing my face and then getting dressed by the light of two small candles was fine.  Luckily I had picked out my outfit the night before with the aid of electric light, so I was A-OK in the fashion department.  Putting on makeup promised to be the biggest hurdle, I thought.  I decided a light touch was key.  I was afraid if I tried to replicate my usual routine I might come out looking like a clown.  A glance in the mirror once I got to work confirmed my theory.  There was just enough makeup to set me in that delicate equilibrium between zombie and clown, and I appeared well-rested enough that I wasn't in that Bermuda Face Triangle where there IS no equilibrium and I either look like a Zombie or a Zombie Clown. 

That little blessing was nothing short of a miracle, because, despite sleeping like a baby through the night's violent, apocalyptic vortex of horror, I had to go to work without coffee.  I need sufficient rest, a shower, AND coffee to look and feel normal.  Usually, an extra cup of coffee can compensate for the alertness a shower provides (though nothing suppresses the feeling of dirty).  But no shower AND no coffee?  You may as well cancel Christmas, because you've just ruined my day so hard.

So I powered through the work day, and went to the gym where I tried not to sweat too much since I probably already smelled like hot garbage.  Came home, took an EXTRA long shower because now I have to live with the fear of not knowing when my next shower is going to come.  Power outages are traumatizing, guys.  But then I made tofu fajitas and all is right with the world once again.  It's 7:21 and I'm probably going to fall asleep in about 4 minutes due to caffeine withdrawal.