We've had multiple massive tornadoes come ripping through here recently, destroying everything in their paths, killing hundreds of people, pummeling us with phenomenal amounts of rain, and severing power from a nuclear power plant that supplies electricity to most of the northern half of the state.
So, here are a few things you discover when you totally lose power for several days:
1) reading by candlelight is not all that its cracked up to be and you frequently fall asleep.
2) it's a good thing the tornado brought a cold front with it because there is no air conditioning or fans
3) your modern new digital telephone won't work. Anyone around here still pay for a landline and have an old-fashioned analog phone? Those phones still work just fine. I always hated this digital crap and this just reinforces that view.
4) your cell phone will work as long as the cell towers haven't all been flattened by the tornado, but once your battery is dead, unless you've got a solar battery charger you are screwed.
5) thank God we have a gas-powered water heater!
6) why the hell didn't we get a gas stove instead of electric?
7) all meat products in the refrigerator go bad after several hours of no electricity.
8) a big, frozen chicken from the freezer helps keep the refrigerator cool for a long time.
9) thank God we have a gas-powered generator!
10) where are we going to buy gas when there is no electricity to power the gas pumps?!
11) going back to the 'good old days' sucks
12) rechargeable batteries coupled with a big solar battery charger can be a God-send. As soon as this is over I'm going to get one.
13) propane-powered camping stoves are a great thing to have when the power is out. As soon as this is over I'm going to get one.
14) there is a ton of cool stuff that can be powered by propane. As soon as this is over I'm stocking up on that stuff.
15) Water treatment plants require electricity, too, so keeping stockpiles of bottled water can literally be a lifesaver when your city is without electricity for several days.
16) this is super boring.
17) every intersection becomes a 4-way-stop when there is no electricity for the traffic signals. This makes driving to almost any destination take much, much longer.
18) battery powered radios or even little portable battery powered TVs are a great thing to have for an emergency. See #12
19) board games are great ways to pass the time, unless you are completely alone during the long, long power outage like I am. If alone, a deck of cards and solitaire is your best bet. That, a guitar, a stack of magazines I somehow didn't find interesting enough to read before, and long walks are about all there is to do. Just don't get too sweaty. Gotta conserve water, remember? Showers use tons of water.
20) It can be extremely challenging finding something to eat when the lack of electricity has ruined all your meat, milk and eggs and your stove is electric, too. Peanut butter and jelly or tuna is about all you're left with. For days and days.
Yep, those damn digital/cordless phones give me the shits! Doubled with the fact we have crap mobile(cell phone) reception here, it's near impossible to make a call if your power goes out.
ReplyDeleteIt's just frightening watching that footage.
So glad you are OK.
I'm glad you are OK.
ReplyDeleteOh, you can keep them! I'll take our Australian cyclones any day over a tornado! At least we get days of warning to prepare.
ReplyDeleteYou must get an emergency kit after this! I was stuck in our cyclone in February without even a battery operated radio to hear what was happening :/
Glad you are safe!
The footage of those storms was terrifying!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're okay!
Ute, I'm just anal enough to always have an old plug-in analog phone around somewhere for power outage emergencies and such. Tornadoes blow down cell towers, too, but in some areas the telephone lines are underground, so the old-fashioned phones are great to have.
ReplyDeleteXL, thanks, I am glad to be OK, too.
Amanda, I definitely need to put together an emergency kit. This was a real eye-opener as to how unprepared I really am for a week without power.
MsSmack, the amount of damage they did was horrific, too. I was lucky not to be directly in their path.
Boring, my ass! That is scary! You could always have lots of sex for entertainment ;)
ReplyDeleteFifi, yes, but unfortunately where I live there is no one nearby to have sex with. Unless you're counting do-it-yourself sex. :p
ReplyDeleteGlad you are safe mate! we have an old phone just for when the power goes out. You need a camping light & cooker with a couple of LPG bottles for such emergencies!!!
ReplyDeleteDont get a gas hot water unit that needs POWER to make the pilot light stay on......I might hear you cursing your plumber from here......
Hope you didn't eat the PB&J WITH the tuna!!!
AlleyCat, I've been scoping out the camping aisles in the stores and making a list of things I want to keep stored away for just such an emergency. No, no PB&J with tuna. I think that'd make me hurl. :-)
ReplyDelete