Monday, July 03, 2006

Powerless

And here I was, all set with my post titled, "Why I can't read John Rickards' blog anymore" when through the early morning stillness there was a loud pop outside.

And my backup power supply started beeping, so I shut the computer off.

Yes, a good, solid 4 hours without power on our side of town. Have you ever heard that things happen in threes? My sister told me that when I was a kid. I believe it was right after I partially severed my foot. The year before, I'd been hit by a car while riding my bike and I landed on my head (hence the scar on my head, James!) and this was 2 years in a row.

The cycle was completed the next year when I fell down a waterfall. Have I ever mentioned I'm a walking disaster? Well, I certainly was a very clutsy kid. I had a hard enough time walking on my own two feet - I knew modeling, wearing those tiny shoes with astronomical heels was never in my future. Not that I have the body for it anyway. I love food.

Anyway, I figure this completes our trio of bizarrities. First, the water. Second, the huge fire. Today, a major power outage.

Tomorrow, there will be peace and calm and all will be right with the world... Right?!!!

The good news is, I have my plane ticket. I have my insurance. I have some British pounds, which will probably be easier to get rid of than standard Canadian pounds, which seem to cling to you forever. And I took a couple snaps of the piles of charred rubble that they've already started bulldozing from the fire.




Another movie. This time, Syriana. Not a happy-go-lucky story. The kind that makes you sad and angry and leaves you mad at the world. Really enjoyed it, it wouldn't be for everyone (I think if you like international politics and conspiracy stuff, you'll enjoy this) and can I just say that Alexander Siddig is awesome? I don't know what it is - there's something about him that's just so damn likeable, to me anyway. But then, I loved Deep Space Nine.

And what's keeping me up at night? Or should I say, who? John McFetridge, author of Dirty Sweet. This is a great read. Despite the fact that the book is set in Taranna.

Something to think about.

And my friend, fellow author Julia Buckley has been interviewed by Lonnie Cruse!

As for why I can't read Rickards' blog anymore... maybe I'll fill you in tomorrow.

12 comments:

JamesO said...

Only four hours? What kind of a powercut do you call that? We had no electricity for four days one winter in Fife a few years back. Snowed in, too.

Since the stove was oil fired and heated the water, and we had a good supply of candles to read by, it was a wonderful time.

Did I ever mention that I'm a bit of a recluse?

Sandra Ruttan said...

Well James, we finally left and went to the city.

I've had three day outages before, which aren't fun when you have no mechanism for cooking. But beyond that, the real annoyance centers around filtered water for the dogs and cats and laundry.

And obviously, I can't use my computer!

Linda L. Richards said...

("When I was a kid, I used to have to walk eight miles to school and back uphill. Both ways!" I'm paraphrasing from something, but I can't for the life of me remember what.)

Here on my island off the wet coast, power outages are expected and prepared for. We have two (count 'em!) airtight wood stoves in the house and the candelbra over the dining table really is candle-powered. (Twelve candle powered, to be precise.) The propane barbecue serves well for making tea and cooking in a pinch. Power failures are when we catch up on Scrabble. Unfortunately, the bad-ass espresso machine does not run during power outages, but we deal with it.

Since it's an island, the real trouble begins when the weather is bad and the ferries stop running. Though, honestly? You don't move to an island unless you think such challenges are fun occasionally. (Of course, too much of it would be no fun at all.)

Sandra Ruttan said...

Linda, the power outages I remember? From when I lived on Thetis Island and then Vancouver Island. I completely understand - we landlovers get attached to our power.

And no ferries is just a disaster. Especially on the smaller islands!

anne frasier said...

i wondered what was going on up there! glad you're back, sandra.

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid, I had to change channels by hand.

Sandra Ruttan said...

Thanks Anne - yeah, it was an interesting morning. Technically, a long weekend because of Canada Day too, but still, I hadn't thought I'd be completely awol!

Fourty_Two, I remember those days!

Bill Cameron said...

I am older than paper.

Patrick Shawn Bagley said...

Ah, that sucks. We lose power here all the time and, because we're one of only three families on this dirt road in the middle of nowhere, Central Maine Power is never in a big hurry to get our juice back on. It can take anywhere from two to ten hours.

Kat Campbell said...

People still lose power? What a concept! Rest!

Unknown said...

I never thought that bad things happen in threes! :-)

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Hope the threesome of bad luck is over :-)

Sandra Ruttan said...

Bill, I could use some help with ancient history for reseach, LOL!

Patrick, do you guys have a generator? We don't. We lose power a fair bit in the summer, usually for thunderstorms. Oddly enough, in this old house, sometimes we only lose power in half of the house. Cue twilight zone music.

Kat, you live in civilization, don't you? As Linda mentioned, if you live on the Islands, this is normal. I remember once, eagle flew into a transformer, that was my day at the office done. You learned to save save save!

I don't know where the idea that bad things happen in threes comes from, exactly, but I hope it's over too Tanginika! I don't want any bad karma still to come back on me when I'm getting on that plane!

Or sitting in the bar with Stuart.