In case anyone has been in a cave for the last week (which might have been a good idea) Over 75,000 people in the city of Springfield lost their power due to an ice storm and to date 13,500 still have no power, this number does not take into account the thousands outside the city limits. So needless to say it has been an interesting 8 days. Day 1. Generous friends with a working fireplace + Beer + Charades + Fried imitation crab meat and cheese = great fun.
Day 2. Now it was pretty cold. I curled up under the covers most of the afternoon reading a book…That is until the largest tree in our back yard snapped in half under the weight of the ice and came crashing through the deck, demolishing the patio furniture, landing just shy of our bedroom door. We decide to leave the house and go hang out at Wal-Mart, one of the only places with power.
Day 3. I looked over at Johnny, using the last of our daylight…he was staring at the lifeless television set, secretly offering favors and bargaining with Allah, Buddha, Baby Jesus and all of the other divine forces of the universe in exchange for electricity. Later that night we get tired of playing the "Name Game" and got out the oil pastels and a blank canvas. Half-blind finger painting is fun!
Day 4. The thermostat in the house read 12 degrees. We decided to check into the only hotel in Springfield with vacancies. I walked into the room and was punched in the stomach by a brick wall of stale smoke. After noticing the suspicious dark stains on the walls and taking one glace into the dirty hell hole that posed as a bathroom we immediately checked out.
Day 5. I went to Panera Bread early to get warm and charge my phone and to get out of the cold house that now smells like dirty feet. I was tired of sleeping with three pairs of pants on and a LED light strapped to my forehead. I decided that hell just may be freezing over and I called my mom and asked her if we could stay at her house.
Day 6. I went home to check on the dog. He was clearly very confused about what was going on…but he seemed to be enjoying his new jungle gym of broken tree parts that we used to call our back yard. I'm sort of pissed at the people down the street that TURNED THEIR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON. ASSHOLES!
Day 7. Johnny is heaven. He is now able to flip through all of the channels he wants to one the big screen in the basement. I am very thankful that I have a warm place to go. I tried to think of every excuse as to why I could not go see this foreign film Johnny wants to see called Spam's Maze or Puzzle or something like that. We end up spending Saturday night with my parents watching the first one-third of what my Dad considers the best mini series ever made---Lonesome Dove--- I'm still not convinced.
Day 8. Hmmm…still no power. I'm really enjoying spending all of this time with my youngest sis, Ali and my little niece Taylor. Taylor has now informed me that sitting too close to the fire place is DANGEROUS! and apparently I am not supposed to change her diaper while she is standing up….
Pretty excited to go back to work, we finally have power in the office. I give MAD PROPS to everyone who works at CU, all of the tree people, volunteers, good friends and family. This sucks ass but at least we are in it together.
Day 2. Now it was pretty cold. I curled up under the covers most of the afternoon reading a book…That is until the largest tree in our back yard snapped in half under the weight of the ice and came crashing through the deck, demolishing the patio furniture, landing just shy of our bedroom door. We decide to leave the house and go hang out at Wal-Mart, one of the only places with power.
Day 3. I looked over at Johnny, using the last of our daylight…he was staring at the lifeless television set, secretly offering favors and bargaining with Allah, Buddha, Baby Jesus and all of the other divine forces of the universe in exchange for electricity. Later that night we get tired of playing the "Name Game" and got out the oil pastels and a blank canvas. Half-blind finger painting is fun!
Day 4. The thermostat in the house read 12 degrees. We decided to check into the only hotel in Springfield with vacancies. I walked into the room and was punched in the stomach by a brick wall of stale smoke. After noticing the suspicious dark stains on the walls and taking one glace into the dirty hell hole that posed as a bathroom we immediately checked out.
Day 5. I went to Panera Bread early to get warm and charge my phone and to get out of the cold house that now smells like dirty feet. I was tired of sleeping with three pairs of pants on and a LED light strapped to my forehead. I decided that hell just may be freezing over and I called my mom and asked her if we could stay at her house.
Day 6. I went home to check on the dog. He was clearly very confused about what was going on…but he seemed to be enjoying his new jungle gym of broken tree parts that we used to call our back yard. I'm sort of pissed at the people down the street that TURNED THEIR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON. ASSHOLES!
Day 7. Johnny is heaven. He is now able to flip through all of the channels he wants to one the big screen in the basement. I am very thankful that I have a warm place to go. I tried to think of every excuse as to why I could not go see this foreign film Johnny wants to see called Spam's Maze or Puzzle or something like that. We end up spending Saturday night with my parents watching the first one-third of what my Dad considers the best mini series ever made---Lonesome Dove--- I'm still not convinced.
Day 8. Hmmm…still no power. I'm really enjoying spending all of this time with my youngest sis, Ali and my little niece Taylor. Taylor has now informed me that sitting too close to the fire place is DANGEROUS! and apparently I am not supposed to change her diaper while she is standing up….
Pretty excited to go back to work, we finally have power in the office. I give MAD PROPS to everyone who works at CU, all of the tree people, volunteers, good friends and family. This sucks ass but at least we are in it together.
