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Three Things On Thursday: The One About The Power Outage

As you may have heard, we had a major snow event in my area yesterday. I was stoked for a day at home. I pictured a day full of knitting, reading blogs, and hanging out on Facebook, all with the TV on in the background. Instead I woke up to find we were without power.

You all know I have a wood stove so we weren’t cold. And I have a gas cook stove so we had coffee and tea and a hot breakfast. Really, I can’t complain. And yet, I’m going to do just that.

I read a book  on my Kindle and I did some knitting and I was bored. Bored! Me! I’m never bored but I was.

This boredom made me realize 3 things about myself:

  1. I am addicted to my iPhone. When I wore the battery completely down I  sent Dale out into the snow drifts to charge it with my car charger. And when the power came back on shortly after that I sent him back out to retrieve it. My precious, indeed.
  2. I am addicted to Facebook. It was my connection to the outside world yesterday. Well, until my phone battery gave up.
  3. I am addicted to television. I needed news and I needed The View and I needed a soap opera and a rerun of Grey’s  Anatomy. I was adrift without my favorite shows and my mood was decidedly cranky. I’m not proud of this but it’s true.

The power came back on at 3:45 and within minutes I had the laptop powered up, Hannah was checking Facebook on her Mac, and Dale was using his iPad to check his email.

At least I’m not alone with my addictions.

This Post Has 28 Comments

  1. We lost power for 12 hours 2 days after Christmas during the blizzard…while sitting in front of the fire and playing board games was fun, we couldn’t wait to get our technology back. It was hard for the kids as they had just received a Kinect for the xbox and they couldn’t even play with it. Glad your power is back on!

  2. I’m glad you were warm, anyway! And glad the “event” just dropped a dusting on us on its way to you… I’m sure we’re in for it soon enough!

  3. You’ve made me feel better! I was Facebooking on the laptop, working on the old clunker and words with friends on the iPad. Also cranky because all that was on was news! Feeling a little guilty about the tech addiction. Oh yes, texting w Dan in NC – first week of college school cancelled twice!

  4. You’re absolutely not alone – lost power in the post-Christmas blizzard and felt the same way. Thank goodness for the battery back up on my Uverse – I had a few blissful minutes of internet on the laptop midway through. Its sad how addicted to technology I am.

  5. Sorry to hear you lost power yesterday! With no wood stove or gas stove, no power would have been a disaster for us. We have a gas grill that we use when the power is out in the summer but with over a foot and a half of snow on the deck it would have been a challenge getting to it. Certainly has been an epic event here in Ct. with records broken all over the state for snow totals. I feel I got off easy compared to others.

  6. I find it a touch easier to give up all that technology when the power goes out and it’s nice outside. Then we can sit on the lanai and enjoy the sun. However, my power generally prefers to go out while I am at work and I get panicky about how much I can accomplish before the laptop battery dies. Sometimes working from home can be tricky, we don’t get snow days or calamity days unless there is destruction to the house which I would greatly prefer to avoid!

    However a power outage complete with a blizzard over several hours would probably have me desperate to check the internet for a resolution whatever dire problem I am having with the knitting I screwed up while working on during the power outage! 🙂

  7. Can you imagine a day when we will need a 12 step program because of
    techo I addictions!! I am happy on days like yesterday that we live in NC –
    too old to shovel snow. However, I can’t imagine living without my laptop
    iPhone or FB!!! I keep thinking I need to take a break from the laptop and
    FB one or two days a week – right – never going to happen. Glad your
    power is back on.

  8. Once connected it’s hard to let go. I was worried until I saw your come back. Internet and phones are all we have to stay in touch. Well, I guess we could write letters.

  9. I had Shawn plug the phone in to the car charger, too! We were without heat, but I did rig up a way to make hot water for tea & cocoa. On the up side … we cleaned the living room & the girls’ room, and I finished my latest shawl 🙂 So glad when the power came back on at 2:15!

  10. We never lose power in the wintertime – it’s always in the sweltering summer, when we really need that A/C to keep us alive. At those times, all I want to do is sleep and hope the power comes back on before I melt.

    Before my iPhone, I had a stupid little flip phone with no apps and a laborious texting function. I used to lose it in the bottom of my purse because I didn’t care to use it. Now I have an umbilical link to the iPhone – I know where it is at all times (usually in my pocket) and use it a zillion times a day. Helpless, I tell ya.

  11. Indeed, as others have observed, you are not alone. Losing power (in Cambridge) was my one concern; it can happen a lot in the summer. Happily, I could stay connected. But thank you for reminding me about the charger in my car should the need arise. We all need backups — of every variety.

  12. Oh my gosh…I am so in agreement with you! That perfect day you described? I am with you all the way. If I can’t at least watch a little late night talk show before bed I feel all kinds of out-of-sorts. People sometimes poke fun at me because I’m a tv addict but now that I’m over 40 I’ve come to accept it and cherish my knowledge of useless tv trivia 🙂
    I would feel lost without my Kindle, Blackberry or laptop….I took them ALL with my on our RV vacation last summer! My family was very happy to be able to watch Stargate Atlantis episodes every evening on my laptop 🙂 Then I would sit up with my Kindle and booklight after everyone else was asleep. Crazy? Maybe 🙂

  13. You had me laughing at your FB status yesterday! We got alot less snow here in RI than you got up in MA. I was worried about the power going out at home so when I read your status I plugged everything in so I had fully charged batteries on the laptop and my Iphone. We never lost power, but thanks for the heads up !

    I am embarrassed at how tech addicted I am. My skin wants to crawl when I can’t put my TV on. Sick….

  14. LOL! When the power goes off, first I say, “Oh so nice and quiet. Peaceful.” And then I wonder what in the world I’m going to do to keep occupied!

  15. You didn’t miss The View because it was pre-empted by storm coverage. And I tried out the new Doctors Without Borders Grey’s Anatomyesque show last night, but it was too lame to get more than halfway through.

  16. I’ve been wishing for a snow day, and must admit that I’m picturing an idyllic day similar to the one you had planned!! Not sure I’d handle being forced to shift gears very well, either.
    ; )

  17. I’ve been pondering what I’d miss without power. It seems like I always use extra time on laundry, so that would be a bummer. And since I’m not organized….I guess I could put things away!

  18. yup. I get it. Life without the iphone would be difficult.
    I went through TV “withdrawals” almost 4 years ago when I left it behind – but now I totally do not miss it.

  19. We were very fortunate and did not lose power…I think I would have been a little nutsy had we. I’m addicted to my blogs, facebook and the phone…

  20. I always “think” I’m not addicted to checking my fave blogs, Pinterest, Ravelry, and Twitter, but I get a little twitchy if I can’t have my little moments of online social connection!

  21. We got 29 inches and the day off from work yesterday in CT. I thought I would get so much done but accomplished nothing. My father and I fought with the crappy little snowblower till I told him to give up and bought him a new snowblower that cost more than a Schacht. They delivered it right after 5 last night so I was able to get out to go to work today. Everytime I look at it I am going to picture the wheel I could have had but for the snow.

    We would have missed the power as we would have no heat and no stove. I would miss the Ipod Touch as a friend told me about the Bookworm game and that is where my whole day went except when I was charging it back up. Daytime TV I could do without, I was flipping channels.

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