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And so now I lease an apartment full of glorified paperweights…

July 26, 2010, 6:08 PM

Right now, it seems that would be the case. At least until the power comes back on. With no electricity at home (I’m composing this entry from the office after work), all of my electronic devices are essentially glorified paperweights. The refrigerator doesn’t work. The microwave doesn’t work. The toaster doesn’t work. The television doesn’t work. And most importantly, the computer and the Internet both don’t work. No electricity to power it all, after all.

You may have heard about strong storms coming through the DC area on Sunday. Well, Montgomery County looks like a disaster area for it. Seriously, this storm, which came and went in about ten minutes, did a whole lot of damage. First I noticed it was when I heard wind, and the trees were blowing about crazily. Then the rain came down really hard, really fast. It rained so hard that water from the gutters on my apartment building overflowed onto the balcony. It was crazy. And then the lights went out. And came back on. And then went out again. And came back on again. And then went out for good. I went out on Sunday evening in order to break the boredom of being in a house without electricity, and discovered lots of downed branches and such, including a very large downed tree limb in the far right hand lane of southbound Georgia Avenue near Leisure World. That blocked the entire lane.

Whether you had electricity or not was somewhat hit-and-miss. Some blocks had electricity. Others didn’t. One traffic light would work and another wouldn’t. I happen to live in an area where a large chunk of area was affected, from Bel Pre Road just south of Leisure World all the way down to Reedie Drive in Wheaton. No traffic lights were operating between Bel Pre Road and Reedie Drive as of this morning, and driving down Georgia Avenue last night was a rather dark affair. Still, it was weird. You’d drive through a section of road, and everything was pitch black. Then go a little bit further, and everything’s lit up like nothing’s going on. Then a little further, and it’s black again.

And unfortunately, it’s supposed to take days for Pepco to get everyone back on the grid again. I’m just hoping that my electricity is back on by the time I get home tonight, because then the house can cool off again, and I can give Chicago some sort of treatment on the Web site – and finally change the photo feature (I forgot to change it before I left for Chicago a week or so ago, and now I can’t change it until power is restored). If it’s not, I have another hot, restless night trying to sleep in an apartment that’s too warm for comfort even with all the windows open, and just a shade too quiet. And I don’t have any hot water, either. Thus unless I want to take a cold shower in the dark at home, I have to use the shower in the basement of my office building. But rest assured that a power outage will not keep me from showering. Good personal hygiene is a must, even if I have to go to another state to ensure that I maintain it. Besides, not showering for multiple days is gross.

So let’s hope I’ve got power again come the time I get home. Let’s not think about the alternative. Just think lights on and air conditioning running when I get home.

Web site: CNN: Power outages plague DC region after storm that killed 2 people

Song: Don't worry... be happy!

Quote: Though I admit it could be worse. It was a full moon out last night, and thus it was less dark of a night than it could have been. Imagine if it had been a new moon last night. That would have been REALLY dark!

Categories: House, Weather