technical difficutlites

Technical difficulties here in IL as in power outages.  We had a pretty nasty storm rough up the area and some 800,000 people have unfortunately been out of power.  But as for me things were OK.

*Cut to Thursday morning when I tried to take a shower only to be found...

IN THE DARK *

(cue horror music) 

I was seriously confused because the storm came and went on Monday and 3 days later I'm out of power, whaaa?!  The neighbors are saying that they heard a big BOOM in the morning and they thought one of the transformers (no, not robots in disguise) had blown.  Unfortunately for our cluster of homes we were the ONLY ones effected (affected? I never know which one to use) by the blown transformer.  GREAT.  

So I pack our food in a single ice chest, grab the flashlights and candles, and hope for the best.  Luckily for us the power was restored tonight (Saturday around 1am) but unluckily for us all of our ice-cream melted in the ice chest.  *sigh*  We should've eaten it.  Anyway, 2 days of zero power was seriously rough and I don't recommend it.  It's kind of scary how relient we are on it.  We're hoping that power will be restored in the surrounding cities soon too.  

So, here's my preventative and during-the-event advice should you find our self without power:

• Eat the ice-cream first!!!  Seriously, it's not going to last.  Just get it over with and eat it all.
  
  
• Keep all your flashlights with working batteries in an easy to find place.  Not easy to find when you have electricity but easy to find should you be in the dark.  BIG difference.
  
  
• Keep matches and candles in the same place as well...again, in an easy to find place.  Careful not to start a fire with these candles.
  
  
• Get bags of ice if you can and pack food away in an ice chest.  Layer ice and food.  If you don't have an ice chest try putting large containers of ice in the freezer and fridge to keep the the temp down.  Your fridge is essentially a big ice chest when the power is out.  Put trays or dish towels underneath the containers of ice to collect condensation.  No peeking!  The more you open the doors the more heat with enter the fridge.
  
  
• If you have a gas burning stove that needs to be lit by turning a nob setting that clicks then your pilot light is ignited by electricity.  Unless your gas is out too you'll be able to use your gas stove but you'll need to light it with a match.  Careful not to burn your eyebrows off when you light it though!
  
  
• Keep your window shades drawn if you rely on A/C to keep your home cool during the day.  In fact, get out of the house.  Go watch a movie or walk around at a mall.  
  
  
• If you have elderly neighbors be sure to check on them especially if it's a hot summer day.
  
  
• If you need to shower in the dark I recommend pointing your flashlight at your bathroom mirror or on something lighter in color like a wall or shower curtain.  This will help scatter the light and illuminate the room more than with a single beam from the flashlight.  It's called science children and I'm Asian so I know what I'm talking about (not really, I saw it on MythBusters).
  
  
• If other parts of your area are unaffected (again, which effect/affect do I use?!) recharge electronics at a local Borders or Starbucks.