I have no power
By Dragonofgold
@Dragonofgold (509)
Canada
February 1, 2009 3:08pm CST
I was just settled down to an afternoon of wasting away the time in useless leisurely pursuits, like a video game or maybe some mylotting, when the power went out. Darn! I went and checked the breakers and found that that wasn't it. I went out to the kitchen and unplugged the microwave, the toaster oven and the coffee maker, and so one through the house so that when the power did come on it wouldn't surge and flip the breakers anyway. My washer was half-way through a cycle. The dryer too. And the dishwasher. It was 3pm so I couldn't just check for the street lights, but I went to the window anyway and found that it must be the whole block since the neighbours were beginning to congregate on one neighbour's porch. I figured the superbowl was interupted by the power-outage and they had gathered to discuss it. Then it struck me how dependant we are upon our utilities. I couldn't make coffee or tea, the power was out. I couldn't watch a show or a movie, the power was out. I couldn't go online or play a game on the computer since, again, the power was out. These things were not a big deal, but then I realized that my thermostat is electric. The furnace is gas, but the igniter and the thermostat depend on the electricity in order to begin to heat the house. My clocks are mostly electric. Heck even my phone, a cordless, depends on electricity. Luckily the power came back on before we could get too cold, but it makes me very darn nervous, I must tell you. I'm thinking about what-ifs and not likeing the scenarios I come up with. What do you think?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@roniroxas (10560)
• Philippines
1 Feb 09
here in our country we always have difficulties regarding electricity when there is a storm. most of the times specially when the storm is more on wind than rains the electric company turns off the electricity so it will not create fire if the cables get cut due to strong winds. and because that happens three or more times a year we have our manual things for back up. we have chargable lamps taht can be use when it is dark already. we still have kettles that goes on the top of the gas stove. we also have small television battery operated.
@wonttakelong (3555)
• United States
2 Feb 09
I feel you!
We had a blackout yesterday too
the whole county lost power for 3 hours
well some were in the dark for longer
When we lost power I did the same thing
I looked outside for streetlights or lights at the neighbors
when I couldnt see anything i checked the breaker box and got the flashlights and candles out
once the kids were settled in I went to the neighbor to check on her
when I got back i got the corded phone out and called the power company
(I have been in the situation before which is why I now have a corded phone for emergency)
My daughter had to hang her wet jerseys on the shower curtain rod to dry since they couldnt go in the dryer and she has a game today
our thermastat is also electric and there isnt anything i could do to prevent the temperature from dropping
the best thing to do in these situations is NOT think about what ifs and just deal with what you can
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Feb 09
I realized the same thing last summer when Ike made us lose power for 4 days here in Ohio. Eating cold food got pretty old! I had plenty of everything, even battery powered fans but we didn't need them.
Now I've got a sterno stove and plenty of food. I always have a month's worth of human and dog food on hand and rotate it regularly. I have plenty of books and candles for entertainment plus cards and a hand-crank radio. Plus about 100 bottles of water. I'm prepared! I always was, but I got a stove to use and fuel for it.
We are all too dependent on modern conveniences. Half the world would have a nervous breakdown if they lost power and that's a shame. Where's our independence? And at least you learned something from this, right? Now do something about it!
@sweetyethot (1737)
• China
2 Feb 09
Haha, just think the last time you use a candle.We're all used to having power.Little we can do without power,like reading your post now.Thanks to the greatest inventor Edison.lol
@fasttalker (2796)
• United States
1 Feb 09
I feel your pain! We just had a tremendous ice storm where we live and we were without power for 4 days. I will tell you how dependent we are on electric. When they started with the warning about this huge ice storm we decided to go to home depot and get a generator "just in case" well nope that didn't happen because they had sold out. Seems we were a little behind on our idea. So when the ice came and the power went out we made our way to the closest motel and yep you guessed it...filled up! Once again a little too late. We did find another motel nearby and stayed there until power came back on. Now we are dealing with frozen water lines and a plasma TV that didn't care for the cold temps. WHAT A MESS!
Power came back on two days ago and we are expecting another tomorrow night. But guess what? While out at the motel we found a Lowes store that had a generator so we're on top of it now! LOL We spent all day yesterday thawing water lines and thankfully none bursted. Now if I can get my TV up and running I'll be back to normal I guess. Until tomorrow night that is! I am sooo ready for winter to be OVER!
