Blackout Update
Yes, I survived the Blackout of 2003. (I hate that the new casters call it that. It sounds like an annual event.) I was actually in my office, at my desk, when the lights went out. There is nothing like having to be self evacuated from the office AGAIN! It seems as though there is no one we can really trust to take control of an emergency situation aside from ourselves. Maybe that is why they keep giving us "training" for these problems.
My first reaction was to blame it on the ice fronts that they call air conditioning in this building. It is like a meat locker in this office. It totally made sense that we would lose power when we can safely keep Ted Williams and Walt Disney in our closets.
Anyway, once we got out of the building, it was clear that we weren't the only ones having a problem. There were no traffic lights, the other buildings were dark, people were streaming out of buildings, cops were directing traffic. All news, once again, came from cars parked on the streets with their radios on and crowds gathering around. The lines for Mr. Softy were down the block. It's amazing how people were able to adapt to the inconvenience.
By the time I got home, I knew there was a power outage in New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. Not bad for a mile long walk, I'd say. The hardest part of the entire experience was going upstairs in my apartment building. I live in an old walk up with nothing that might resemble emergency lighting. The windows in the stairwell face the brick wall of the building next door and the skylight only lights up the top 2 floors. Lucky for me, I'm on the 3rd floor. Not too much braille climbing and feeling around for the lock and key.
My windows facing west onto the street provided hours of light for me. Plenty of time to gather candles and make phone calls on my home phone for the time it was still working. After a couple of calls, I found out about what happened and settled in for a long night of electriciy free fun. Okay, maybe not.
I really wanted to go and take pictures of Times Square with no power. But I couldn't justify risking my neck on the stairs again. So, I found a book to read, settled in with some knitting and called it a night.
So how did Marney fill those long hours? Well, the hat and bootie sets are finished. I have a sweatshirt (not really needed in 93 degree weather without air conditioning). I worked on the yarn fairy blanket. Well, I spent a long time on it only to realize that it was too wide for as long as I could make it with the yarn I have. I can't get any more, as it is a generic acrylic yarn from MANY years back. So after all is said and done, after the lights came back on, and more importantly, my fan, after the inconvenience passed, I frogged the whole thing (about a foot and a half, maybe more) and started over. I feel a little better about it being longer than it is wide, now.
In any case, I got my power back by about noon on Friday. I didn't hear anything from the folks at work, but since I had no power or phones, I figured the office just across town had the same problem. Call it a free day.
Well, I have a TON of stuff I have to catch up on today. Maybe I'll be in better shape tomorrow.
My first reaction was to blame it on the ice fronts that they call air conditioning in this building. It is like a meat locker in this office. It totally made sense that we would lose power when we can safely keep Ted Williams and Walt Disney in our closets.
Anyway, once we got out of the building, it was clear that we weren't the only ones having a problem. There were no traffic lights, the other buildings were dark, people were streaming out of buildings, cops were directing traffic. All news, once again, came from cars parked on the streets with their radios on and crowds gathering around. The lines for Mr. Softy were down the block. It's amazing how people were able to adapt to the inconvenience.
By the time I got home, I knew there was a power outage in New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. Not bad for a mile long walk, I'd say. The hardest part of the entire experience was going upstairs in my apartment building. I live in an old walk up with nothing that might resemble emergency lighting. The windows in the stairwell face the brick wall of the building next door and the skylight only lights up the top 2 floors. Lucky for me, I'm on the 3rd floor. Not too much braille climbing and feeling around for the lock and key.
My windows facing west onto the street provided hours of light for me. Plenty of time to gather candles and make phone calls on my home phone for the time it was still working. After a couple of calls, I found out about what happened and settled in for a long night of electriciy free fun. Okay, maybe not.
I really wanted to go and take pictures of Times Square with no power. But I couldn't justify risking my neck on the stairs again. So, I found a book to read, settled in with some knitting and called it a night.
So how did Marney fill those long hours? Well, the hat and bootie sets are finished. I have a sweatshirt (not really needed in 93 degree weather without air conditioning). I worked on the yarn fairy blanket. Well, I spent a long time on it only to realize that it was too wide for as long as I could make it with the yarn I have. I can't get any more, as it is a generic acrylic yarn from MANY years back. So after all is said and done, after the lights came back on, and more importantly, my fan, after the inconvenience passed, I frogged the whole thing (about a foot and a half, maybe more) and started over. I feel a little better about it being longer than it is wide, now.
In any case, I got my power back by about noon on Friday. I didn't hear anything from the folks at work, but since I had no power or phones, I figured the office just across town had the same problem. Call it a free day.
Well, I have a TON of stuff I have to catch up on today. Maybe I'll be in better shape tomorrow.
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