Things you learn when your apartment’s blacked out:
1) You can be envious of apartments that have their lights on.
2) It feels colder when it’s dark.
3) Your gas cooktop needs electricity to spark itself to life.
4) The glow of a mobile phone screen helps to find things in the dark (such as a torch).
5) An itty bitty torch isn’t much use in the dark (must buy a bigger torch).
6) It’s not possible to read by candle light (or perhaps my candles aren’t special enough to emit enough light).
7) You’re obviously getting better at your guitar because you can play your favourite songs without being able to see your fingers.
One thing you realise after the lights come back on:
You used to live in a city in the South Pacific that relied on hydro-electricity but suffered from drought (whose brilliant idea was that?). When the water didn’t flow, for months on end the electricity was rationed so you dealt with sweltering heat, scheduled blackouts several times a week, and waited on water trucks to fill the tanks with questionably coloured water. But that was life. So 2 hours without electricity isn’t much to get worked up about. Some people get none.
wait for the BLACKOUT! Parts of London (Oxford Street and Kings Cross) have had two power failures this past week or so!
and thanks for the Bday wishes. I need to write you a proper email. It’s been too warm lately to do that. Soon!