Thursday, September 1, 2011

What I Learned From Drama Queen Irene

First I complained about the pre-Irene frenzy .

Then I showed you the destruction she caused.

Then I read an excellent post from frogmama who happens to have been a wee bit more in the path of Irene than I was.  Go read it, her perspective is hilarious, as I read it from my well lit corner of the living room, resting easy that my ice is still frozen and I can vacuum at will.

A few things I learned while 'suffering' through Irene.

1.  Weathermen really have no idea.  At all.  They basically admit that.  Have you ever watched the weather and listened?  They use so many coulds, may, possiblys, mights, it makes me wonder if I'm even hearing what I'm really hearing.  I don't know why we even watch.

We're all armchair weathermen anyway, so it's really a contest to see who can guess better- us or them.

2. While I refused to get all worked up over Irene, I was appalled that I might be that last fool who didn't prepare, so k-ster and I hauled inside  all of the plants, chairs and any items that might blow.  Even though I sincerely doubted we would feel the outrageous effects they were predicting.

I am not one to give in to peer pressure, but when it's a matter of my stuff breaking your windows, I guess I give in a little.

3.  Anything can be cooked on a grill, and I've been known to bring the frying pan out there to make eggs or a pot to boil water.  We had plenty of food and the freezer was full of ice packs, but when I had to make supper and what I wanted to make wasn't something I actually wanted to grill, it suddenly became a chore.  Boiling water takes forever on the grill.

When it comes down to the grill being the only option, it's not something I get excited about.

4.  I really like electricity.  I really like convenience.  I can speak green like the best of them, but when it comes to reading by candle light or flipping a switch, I fear it's the switch I prefer the most.  There is a reason I don't go camping.  Roughing it and making do without modern technology is just something I don't want to do.  I don't think it's fun.  I don't get excited about rigging things and making things to substitute for the real thing.  I just like the knowledge that we have electricity at our disposal.  I like to use it when I need it.

I really couldn't live off the grid.  It's more primitive than I would like to be!

So thank you, Irene, for letting me know that I am really just a sham.

Oh sure, I have these gardens, and work at turning off lights when I leave a room and only using the washer when it's full and I don't care if my cell phone dies, etc.  But when it comes down to it, I can't leave this modern lifestyle.

I spent a whole 7 hours without electricity, most of which were daylight hours.  By 8pm, we had our power. 

People nearby are still waiting for Nstar to give them power.  Still, 4 days later!  And they are in the same town!  My theory is that Nstar is mad that this area won't let them use pesticides below the power lines.  It has become a really big deal here.  I think they are like 'screw them' and are trying to make a point. 

I remember 5 days with no power after hurricane Bob, but we cheated a little with a generator. 

No generator for us this time.  It would  have been a tough 5 days, I'm afraid.


2 comments:

  1. I'm glad you weren't without electricity that long! We didn't have it for about 5 days when Hurricane Ike came through Texas a year or so ago. Maybe even 7 days. Not fun. I do like camping, but when I decided I want to go! I don't like forced camping. :)

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  2. Sometimes when I taught elementary school, we would loose computer service and it was like "what do we do?" I didn't know how to take attendance, send in lunch count, contact parents.... Seriously, people used to be able to teach school without electricity, heat, paper and sharing 1 book. We've become wussies!

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