It is astonishing how many things we need electricity for. Unfortunately, it's impossible to really grasp the spectrum of things in our lives made exponentially more difficult by the loss of power until we - wait for it - lose power.
Consider my adventure last night upon returning home to discover that I was one of the several thousand to lose power in Virginia during yesterday afternoon's Derecho Part Two: Electric Boogalo.
Luckily, I'd stopped to pick up a pizza on the way home, otherwise I would have, like my roommates, been at a complete loss as to what to eat. The only food I currently have in my apartment is pancake mix - not much use without a functioning stove. If I'd gone to the grocery store after work, as originally planned, I likely would've picked up some delicious frozen meals, only to return home and, heartbroken, find them rendered utterly worthless by the lack of a functioning microwave.
As my roommate struggled to pack for a weekend out of town without being able to see her clothes, I plopped down on my couch to enjoy my pizza, instinctively looking up at the television despite my inability to turn it on. That day's newspaper was sitting on the couch next to me, and so, like a old man in the 1920's, I ate my dinner while catching up on the day's events, all of which I'd spent most of the day reading about a fancy new intervention called the Internet.
Searching for other activities to distract myself, I remembered that my laptop had been charging most of the day, and could therefore be used to finish my episode of Breaking Bad.
You, clever reader, have undoubtedly noted the impediment I missed; the Internet, which powers the magical Netflix, needs electricity to function.
'Perhaps I'll take a shower,' I thought to myself, only to enter a pitch-black bathroom and literally not be able to see anything. I quickly downloaded the flashlight app on my phone and washed the way the stress of the day with eerie backlight and shadows dancing around the room.
(Confession: I own no real flashlights. I should probably fix this before the next time the power goes out, because there's no guarantee I'll have a fully charged phone at that point. Still, technology is great.)
Of course, then I was faced with the challenge of sopping wet hair and no way to dry it, but luckily some people in my life were lucky enough not to lose electricity. Lucky bastards.
(I guess I should be nice though, as I may be without power through Monday. HOW WILL I LIVE? I NEED TO KNOW HOW WALTER AND JESSE GET OUT OF THE DESERT!!!)
You should invest in candles because then a power outage is an excuse to be super fancy. When we lost power for a week in Westfield during Irene, our neighbors came over every night for wine by candlelight because hey, you don't need to refrigerate red wine.
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