Distorted Moon-CB
It just so happened that my room-mate (a.k.a. my mother) was out-of-town when the blackout hit; I was left alone to my own devices. Well, I wasn’t completely alone though, I had Suki and Zoey to hang out with (my dogs). However, they are not much for conversation; so like always, I had to amuse myself for a while. So I sat on my sticky hot leather couch with a wet towel smothered across my body to defend against the stale heat trapped in the house; having multiple conversations with myself. I found out that I am pretty interesting to talk to.
The following are conservations I had with myself during the San Diego blackout on September 8, 2011:
1. I’m a bad Californian due to the fact that we are prone to earthquakes, I should probably have a stockpile of emergency supplies inside my garage for earthquakes and events like this. But I don’t. That’s embarrassing. (Then I immediately made a list of supplies I would need: 3 days worth of water, peanut butter, batteries, blankets, generator, small solar-powered radio, first aid kit, flash lights, a gun, and more peanut butter).
2. Can this secretly be the Apocalypse please? You may think I have serious problems, but I know I am not alone out there when I say that there are a lot of people who romanticize and fantasize about the end of the world happening, or a catastrophic event occurring; forcing the human race to start all over again. Call me crazy but I get secretly excited on the prospect of abandoning this delusional existence as we know it– having to live off the land and hunt and kill to survive; living at the mercy nature. Simply living in the hands of the universe. This blackout reminded me again that all the modern-day comforts of air conditioning, power, clean drinking water; are just all that; comforts that act as illusions and buffers from reality–they give us a false sense of security when at any moment we could be wiped out completely–the reality is that we are living on that threshold everyday.
3. Seriously, how did people live like this before? Since I couldn’t find the flashlights, I had to light every candle I could find in the house, walking around with it if I had to move to another room. It was fun for the first five minutes, but when I actually had to go look for something by candle light it became very inconvenient and I ended up spilling candle wax everywhere. Now I understand why before electricity, everyone went straight to bed when it got dark; because you can’t get s*** done by candle light! Luckily, my iPad was charged at 50 percent, so I played Angry Birds for about an hour….
4. Hey! Screw these candles, I can use the solar-powered walkway lights in the front and backyard for light! Gee, I’m such a smarty…So I brought in a few solar-powered garden lights and strategically place them inside my house. They lights did not exude too much light, but just enough to light up the hallways so I wouldn’t eat it trying to get to the bathroom during the night.
5. I hope no one tries to steal the remaining solar power lights left in my front yard. Who knows? If this power outage lasts a few more days or weeks, my solar lights may become a coveted item….
6. Which one of my dogs would I eat first if I ran out of food? Yes, there is no arguing that this is a morbid thought, but it could easily become a serious dilemma. Hmm, Suki is all muscle, and Zoey is fatter– so perhaps tastier–but I enjoy Zoey’s company more; but then again, Suki is a good watchdog…decisions decisions.
…Those were just some of the more prominent conversations going through my head that night, trust me, there were a lot more…
