Dec 28 2007
T’Was The Day After Christmas…
…and there I sat, ready to hit publish when [plop] - all the lights went out. No lights, no internet. Also? No wind. No snow. No rain. WTF? Whose idea of a joke is this?
Have I mentioned that when our lights go out, we have no water either? Because the well pump runs on electricity. And the heat? also electric. All appliances? you got it.
We got out the candles, lit everything up, and gathered blankets. We called the power company, and were told (by an electronic voice) that they were so busy, they would need to call us back. The Voice recited the phone number, and asked for an alternate phone number. I gave her/him my cell.
Then, after staring at each other for about 3 minutes, Mr. Hot, Shortman and I decided to give up and head up to bed. I slept with both phones on the table next to the bed. No phone calls.
My toes were freakin’ cold in the morning. Even with socks on and between flannel sheets and two blankets. When I got downstairs, Mr. Hot said “Eleven o’clock.” It was 7:30. Eleven o’clock came. And went. Another phone call to DTE. “Between now and 2 o’clock.”
Shortman woke up about 11:30. Mr. Hot yelled up at him,“Get dressed, we’re going someplace.” And so we did. Brunch (ahhhhh, coffee, finally!). Met a neighbor eating in the same diner (She had been told 4 o’clock. Sigh.). Then to see “I Am Legend” with Will Smith. Once again, I walked how of a theatre with swollen eyes. Why does the dog have to die?
We got home about 2:30 and lo - there was light. And heat. And it was good.
And yet? No internet. No cable television. More phone calls - this time to Comcant. (No, that was soooo not a typo.) Yes, the outage was reported. No, they didn’t know how long it would take to get it back on.
Five hours later, I called them back. “About an hour or so. They’re working in your neighborhood even as we speak.” My neighborhood? Have I mentioned we live in nowhere-land? I didn’t know I had a neighborhood.
Once again, I called it a night and went up to bed, with my book.
Finally, this morning, we’re back up and running. Everything electric. Everything cable-y. And we’re leaving in about an hour to head up to our local dump-turned-ski-hill so that Shortman can snowboard and Mr. Hot and I can curl up in chairs in the lounge and drink coffee and read.
I just wanted to check in and tell y’all that I miss you and will be getting to your sweet emails soon - later this evening when we get back. I did pull a bunch of old pictures to get scanned in for your amusement (I swear, even Shortman said “Mom, what’s with the glasses that cover your whole face?”). Oh, and Santa brought me this. I love it. It’s much easier to use than I ever dreamed.
—- Okay, now I must go get dressed. We’re on a tight timeline. Out of here by 10:30, back by 5. There must be a football game on. Later babes! —-
HOT LOVE
Awwwwwwwww… well glad you are back!! Can ComCant has issues - the CSRs always say “we’re in your neighborhood”. Learned too much while working for that company.
Enjoy the lounge and put a shot (or two) in the hot cocoa
I was wondering if your power was out … glad you are all fixed out there.
I have the Chi too … love it!
Enjoy the day.
My stylist tried to sell me an $80 flat iron when I first got bangs. I told her for that price it better also double as a vibrator. I assume it does a better job than my $20 Revlon one, but you’ll just have to be hotter than me, I’m cheap like that! lol
No heat in winter equals that sucks ass. Glad your toes are warm again!
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today on Tâ??Was The Day After Christmasâ?¦Here’s a quick excerpt…in the same diner (She had been told 4 o’clock. Sigh.). Then to see “I Am Legend” with Will Smith. Once again, I walked how of a… […]
Glad to have you back. Enjoy the day and book. Stay warm!
Well, I’m glad the lights are back on and you’re out having fun. But now I’m crossing I Am Legend off my list of movies to see since I ALREADY KNOW HOW IT ENDS! Spoiler!!! (hehe)
Grrr! Our power goes out if a mouse farts in the next county. Glad you’re back on!
Dump-turned-ski-hill. You can only be talking about Mt. Brighton. My youngest son, Pierce, goes there to board. When he isn’t getting a new tattoo, or another piercing. We did the without lights thing a couple of weeks ago. It was not a fun situation, even though we had water. I had neglected to keep our power outage kit up to day. It is now ready, and we have a new propane heat source to boot.
Keep safe.
Namaste.
The dog dies? OMG.
I’m glad you got the flat iron. Aren’t they amazing? I just discovered that it’s even more amazing if I use it with a heat protecting sray and a straightening gel.
OMG! That is the same as mine! Well my fav one that is (as you know I don’t do things by halves, I have 4 that I use :))
The power out sucks. We don’t get that cold here so I have no idea what it would be like there without heat. However if the power goes out here in the next couple of days I will truly die. We are in the middle of a heat wave. 38C every day! My breasticles are dripping *snort*
And to show how awesome I am I have converted the temp. Would be 100.4 in your neck of the woods.
Shows what I know. I figured you were in a post Christmas food coma.
No power is wrong wrong wrong in winter.
Oh, oh, oh - I hate it when the power goes out. Just the whole not knowing thing. It could be minutes, hours, DAYS. {{shudder}} You handled it better than I would have. Glad you’re back in the land of the connected :>
Okay… that sucks a whole lot. If we had more than 14 square feet to share, I’d invite your whole fam to crash with us. You are in Chicago a lot, anyways.
*hugs*
And also, Comcant. HAHAHAHAHAHAAH!
I’m glad you got the power back..finally! I’m going to check in with you again after the UK trip and catch up on all your doings pre and post power outage.
Things are a bit harried here right now, but just wanted to drop by and wish you a very Happy New Year!
Heidi
I take it Magneto bold too is an Aussie or at least someone from the Southern Hemisphere. We always get a few degrees hotter out here on the plains than what the forecast says for our capital city. Try 41C (about 106F) - its like walking through the gates of hell every time you walk outside. If the power went out now I think I would seriously melt into a very messy puddle.
Glad to hear you got the power back eventually. Sucks to be cold too.
That was some serious deprivation you suffered through. I hope you find some way to reward yourself appropriately.