Everything Broke!
Last night we had a pretty nice thunderstorm. It wasn’t as bad as some of the others we’ve had, but there was some spectacular cloud-to-ground lightning. One bolt took out our utility pole. Ray went out to take a look after we lost our power and found shrapnel in the back yard and some box or other smoking and hanging from the line.
Talk about horrible user experiences! I tried to call the electric company to notify them of the lightning strike, but all I could do with the stupid IVR was report that our electricity was out. I thought maybe I’d get a chance to speak with a person after that, but it refused to let me do anything else, politely informing me that they are now aware of the problem.
So, I tried the customer service number. Same infuriating IVR! Luckily, this one has an escape hatch for “Other Services”. I listened to musak and how important my call is for about 5 minutes, then finally got a very friendly, if slightly testy, customer service rep. I explained the situation to her. She said, “We already have your report that your electricity is out. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you when someone will be out because they are extremely busy due to the storm.”
“I understand. It is just that the smoking pole in the backyard is a bit worrying.”
(getting testier now) “I have added a note to your report about that. The technicians will be aware. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
It took all I had not to answer, ”You mean you actually did something for me? When? I missed it.”
Ray and I prepared for a long, hot, sticky night. The kids actually went to sleep quite quickly and didn’t seem to mind the heavy air. There was a bit of a breeze once the rain stopped, so we opened all the windows. Ray and I played cribbage until it got dark, then I actually got to go to bed. No electricity, no work! Yee, haw!
Around one in the morning I was awakened by the sound of the electric company’s truck out front. After another twenty minutes or so, we had power! Still no A/C, though. Luckily, I am married to a pipefitter and he soon found the problem. But, since the night was wearing on and everyone was fairly comfortable, he left the fix until this morning.
So, the night wasn’t actually that bad. I got to spend some quality time with my husband and I got to bed early. What I thought was really weird was this feeling of isolation that I just couldn’t shake. It was totally irrational, but I felt like I had just entered a Stephen King novel and I was going to find that there was no one else in the world; that we were alone and would have to permanently live without electricity. I was just waiting for the water to stop! The irrationality was amplified by the fact that I live on a street of very close houses and we could hear several of our neighbors barbecuing. What was up with that?
It could have been due to the amazing quiet that settled over the house. There was no chatter from the television, no alerts from the computer, the telephone couldn’t ring, and the A/C wasn’t kicking in. My house is always a cacophony of kids and dog and TV and computer; the silence felt so alien. Today things seem so much louder.
What was too funny was the kids’ reaction. They couldn’t understand why we weren’t putting TV on or why they couldn’t turn the lights on. Every time Timmy went to the bathroom, he angrily asked, “Why isn’t the light turning on?!”
Kellie asked me to put on a movie for her. I told her I couldn’t because the electricity was out. She said, “No, in the playroom.”
Later on, Timmy stomped into the living room and announced (gesturing grandly), “We have to buy all new big TVs! These aren’t working.”
When they had to go to bed, they were quite disappointed that there would be no Mozart: “The music is broken, too?”
This morning, the first thing Timmy said when he got up was, “Mommy! There’s light! Is everything fixed now?”