Out of seemingly nowhere, a severe storm swept through around 2pm yesterday. It only lasted maybe 20 minutes, but there were heavy rains and strong winds. I was typing an e-mail reply at the time and I was concerned that I might lose power. As it turns out, the power did go out, but my computer is on a UPS and I was able to save the e-mail to disk and safely shut down my computer.
I had planned to set aside the day for work — I had some freelance work that I wanted to get a head-start on before next week. But, without power, there wasn’t much I could do there. I waited around a few minutes in case the power came right back on, but it didn’t. So, what next?
Plan B: The gym. I’ve had a lot of work over the past few days and I hadn’t been to the gym recently. So, I figured that would be a healthy option. I packed up my gym bag and headed off to Bally’s. As I drove into the parking lot, I noticed that the gym didn't have power either (bummer). So much for that idea.
Plan C: Groceries. Since Super Target is on the way home from the gym, I thought that I could at least get some grocery shopping done. I drove up to Target and, sure enough, I could see the lights on inside (so far, so good). But, I then realized that it wouldn’t make much sense to buy groceries (eggs, cheese, et al) since I didn’t have a running refrigerator at home in which to put them. Foiled again!
Plan D: Movies. Well, without any productive things left on my list, I reasoned that I may as well make an enjoyable afternoon out of it. Still in the Target parking lot, I accessed MovieFone via WAP on my mobile to check for movies playing nearby. I had wanted to see Super Size Me for some time and, sure enough, it was still in theaters. But, there weren’t any showtimes until around 5:00, which wouldn’t have allowed me to get back in time for Leia’s birthday celebration at The Elbow Room later that evening.
Plan E: Ice Cream. Isn’t Plan E always “ice cream”? ;) With no further options, I decided that ice cream would work well. I hadn’t been to Braum’s in a while, so I headed off in that direction. I was a bit concerned that their power might be out as well, but they did have power. I walked in and ordered one of my favorite sundaes, their Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sundae. And, in an attempt to counteract the full-sugar hot-fudge & peanut butter sauces, I ordered the sundae with low carb ice cream (yeah, Braum’s has low carb ice cream these days).
When the power first went out, I was a bit cheesed off since it prevented me from getting any work done; but, I became less annoyed as my adventure progressed. And, really, who can be mad while eating ice cream? So, yesterday turned out to be all right after all.
I love that Plan E is always ice cream!
What about plan P? Use your powerbook? And then there’s plan I – have a big-ass inverter and a bank of batteries. I picked up a 12-volt 65 amp-hour battery for my radio equipment. Should run for days. :)
you said ‘cheesed off’.
*dies*
The 20year old single that i am would have done the P-plan, which is .. Push Ups plan.
and then i would have done plan E.
Or maybe E then P. or maybe just P and then D for Die-before-power-goes-back-on.
hum its good you make me think about it (even though i seem totally undecided) because it is likely to happen in my house soon with the southern france summer storms!
Josh: I had thought about using my PowerBook, but I wouldn’t have been able to get very far since the cable modem isn’t on a UPS :(.