Outage Limits

Hour One

Dear Diary,

Amanda here. Bored. The power went out about fifteen minutes ago. My tablet and phone are fully charged, but I’m conserving power, just in case.   It’s still light outside so I thought I’d go old school.  I found this pad of paper and a pen in the junk drawer in the kitchen. I thought I’d amuse myself, while I wait for the lights to come back on and record my thoughts, the way I used to do when I was a kid. 

    I can’t remember ever losing power here, so this should be interesting. Power outages were pretty common when I was a kid, but I don’t remember much about those except dad going down into the basement with a flashlight to check the breakers, just to be sure, and mom fretting that the frozen food would spoil.

    I called the electric company, to report the outage. I was hoping someone would tell me how long the power will be out, but I got a recording thanking me for taking the time to call and advising me that that the outage has been logged.  

    So, now I suppose I just wait. Not the best day ever.

Hour Two

Dear Diary,

Amanda again.  It’s been one hour and forty-five minutes and the power is still out.

I gave the bathroom a thorough cleaning while there was still enough daylight to see by. I figured some good should come of this down time and, to be frank, it’s been a while since I’ve done more than swish a little bleach around the toilet bowl. It feels good, knowing I got down to business. The bathroom has that nice, clean smell everyone wants, so this isn’t the worst day ever.

I called the electric company, again, hoping for an update. Same recorded voice thanking me for my call but no hint of when the power will be back on.

Not such a bad day, all things considered.

Hour Three

Dear Diary,

Back again. I spent awhile hunting for the flashlight I used to keep in the junk drawer in the kitchen.   I didn’t realize how disorganized that drawer had gotten.  I’ll admit, here, there is a peculiar array of odds and ends in that drawer. Where does all that

stuff come from and why do I keep it? I never did find the flashlight, but I came across a peach scented candle and a book of matches. A tube of superglue somehow spilled onto the matches, but I was able to pry three of them off the cardboard, intact. I’m pretty sure they’ll light, not that I expect to need them. The power should be back on any minute now.   

     I called the electric company again.  This time the oh so cheerful message informed me that outage in my area may last 2-4 days, which I’m sure is a mistake. No one goes 2-4 days without power.

Can this day get any worse?

Hour Six

Let’s just dispense with the formalities. This isn’t a real diary, after all, it’s just a way to pass the time so, from now on I’ll just jump right in and write. After all, no one but me will ever read this.

     The sun went down about an hour ago, so I’m writing by candlelight.  One of the matches misfired, but I got the second one to light and I still have one left, not that I think

I’m going to need it.   The lights will be back on any minute now. They have to be.   

     The electric company can’t expect paying customers to sit by and accept this level of service. The power has been out for six hours, SIX. I mean, I know the cavemen lived  without electric lights, but they had fire.  Modern man does not have fire and, unless you’re on one of those reality T.V. shows, no one expects you to know how to create fire. Not that I would anyway.  I can’t exactly build a bonfire on the floor of my living room, can I? Because my living room is not a cave. I have carpet in my living room.  And, if I

lit a fire, someone would call the fire department. 

Okay, I know I’m rambling, but I’ve been sitting here, alone, for six hours without power, without social media, with nothing to do.

I’ve called the electric company so often that my phone is down to 75% power. I can’t risk losing more power so I can’t use the flashlight on my phone.  I mean, the power can’t stay off too much longer.

  Not to sound paranoid, but I’m beginning to wonder what’s really going on. I peeked at the newsfeed on my phone, but there is no mention of a power outage here or anywhere else.   

My upstairs neighbors are out of town, so I can’t go up and see if they know anything, and my downstairs neighbors are kooks. I wouldn’t trust anything they have to say anyway.  Besides, now that it’s dark, I don’t want to risk stairs. Too easy to slip and break something, which would make this a very bad day.

I’m going to sign off now and give the electric company another call. Someone has to have amended that recorded message by now. Six hours without power! This can not be happening. There must be something I can do! 

Hour Eight    

Still no power.   I haven’t had dinner because if I open the fridge all cold will rush out and the food will spoil instantly.  I was planning on having pot roast for supper. I bought the meat at Mel’s, and I picked up potatoes and carrots to cook too, the way mom used to.  My mouth is watering, just thinking about tucking into a dish of mom’s home-made pot roast. Comfort food at its finest. It’s a sure bet I won’t be eating that roast now; the meat will have gone off after eight hours without refrigeration even though I kept the door closed, like I was supposed to.

The electric company is going to owe me $16.95 for that piece of meat which, is no doubt spoiled now, not to mention the cost of the milk, and eggs and salad dressing and leftovers just sitting there, locked inside my refrigeration that has not been running for

eight hours and thirteen minutes.  And, oh crap, there’s food in the freezer too. I just went shopping a few days ago. Two weeks-worth of food is destroyed now. I’m deducting that money from my next bill, just let them try to stop me.

    My stomach is growling so loud I’m sure they can hear it downstairs. If only I had something to eat. Anything to take the edge off. I found a mint in the bottom of my purse and ate that. It felt a little fuzzy and I’m worried that the mint might have been

stuck to a tissue. Can you eat tissue? What happens if you do? Dose it blow up in your stomach or go all lumpy and get stuck somewhere in your intestines?

    Come to think of it, my head feels a little funny. So does my stomach, and the air in here smells funny. For all I know the power outage is causing the furnace to leak. Gas fumes may be snaking their way up from the basement right this very minute.   Does the

gas go off when the power goes out? I’m sure it does. Everything is connected somehow. I could be dead by morning, all because the electric company can't keep the power on.

It’s so dark in here I can barely see to write. I’m beginning to wonder if the power is ever going to come back on.  This outage can’t be weather related; we didn’t have a storm. I would heard the thunder and that nice girl on the noon news didn’t say a thing

about foul weather. She said we were in for a nice long stretch of good weather; maybe a little cool, which is to be expected in the fall. 

But we weren’t supposed to have rain or high winds; certainly, no ice or snow, nothing that would damage power lines or disrupt service. So, what is going on?  

     Shouldn’t the weather people have to tell us if we we’re in for nasty weather so we can prepare? I would have looked for my flashlight before the power went out. I would have made sure my tablet and phone were more than fully charged.  My tablet is completely out of power now, but what was I supposed to do? Just sit in the dark with nothing to do? 

Who knew a few games of solitaire would drain the battery so fast?                      

     The power will be back on soon. It has to be. I’m going to call the power company now and demand an update and then call the weather station and lodge a complaint about their inaccurate reporting. Honestly, people should be held accountable.

Worst day ever!

Hour unknown

    My fit bit died. I could have sworn it was fully charged. But the face has gone dark and I don’t know, now, what time it is. 

    I can’t turn on my phone to check the time because, last I checked I was down to 25% power and I need to be able to call the electric company for an update.

    I should sleep. It would help to pass the time during this hellish outage, but it’s too dark and too quiet to sleep. 

    I sneezed and blew out my peach scented candle and I can’t remember where I put that last match.  

    I’m sitting here huddled beneath my blankets, shivering. It’s gone cold in the apartment and that funny smell is back. The silence is deafening. I feel like the world is draped in a blanket of black.  Aren’t there supposed to be stars, or a moon or something up there

in the night sky that sheds light or reflects light? 

    I know it hasn’t been very, very long since I last called the electric company and I'm trying hard to wait before I call again.

They changed the recording; the last time I got through, a snarky voice said, “Our records indicated you have called numerous times. We will call to alert you when the power is restored in your area. Please refrain from calling until this outage is resolved. 

Your patience is appreciated.

    Refrain from calling? Your patience is appreciated? Just who do those people think they are? 

    The next time I call the T.V. station to discuss errant reporting I am going to suggest an expose on the electric company. After all, electricity is a public service, isn’t it? We pay their salaries. Those people owe their paying customers an explanation when they

fail to provide  service.  I have a mind to go on strike. I’ll stop using them altogether. I’ll get a petition going. Get everyone in the city to stop using them. See how they like that. Or, maybe I’ll just withhold my next payment. That’ll show them.  I’ll keep every light in the place on for the next month and then just tear up the electric

bill when it arriv—

    Wait.  Waaaaait. Yes, it's true, thelights are on. The lights are on. This is amazing! Those people at the electric company are the best!  I have got to call them and tell them someone out here appreciates them.

    Best day ever!

   The end