Tropical Storm Isaias swept through our area yesterday, and it made for a good news/bad news kind of day at our house.
The bad news:
- The storm knocked out power to our neighborhood (not to mention thousands of other PSE&G customers).
- When we tried to use our phones to find out how long the outage would last, we discovered that AT&T’s cellular service had been affected as well: while we could make calls, we couldn’t connect to the internet with our phones or any of our other wireless devices. (Twenty years ago we would have pulled out a transistor radio, but it’s been a long time since we had one of those lying around.)
- A neighbor who uses a different wireless provider was able to learn when PSE&G expected to restore service: not until Friday. This was Tuesday.
So we were looking at no power to the refrigerator or freezer — as well as no lights, Wi-Fi, hot water, or TV — for three days.
The good news:
- We had no damage, and not even much in the way of cleanup to do. Some people weren’t so lucky.
- Once the storm passed, the weather was decent. The interminable heat waves of the last several weeks broke and we had a high in the 80s with an expected overnight low around 70, which meant we’d be reasonably comfortable even without fans or AC.
- My mother’s condo, which is a mile and a half from our house, never lost power. She’s away for the summer and I have a key, so we were able to put perishables in her refrigerator and freezer, and could use her place to charge our devices and watch television.
- Best of all, the power came back on this morning after less than 20 hours rather than the expected three days. After another trip to my mother’s condo to collect our perishables, we were back to normal.
What an adventure! (This is what passes as hardship in the first world.)
It’s an old trope that the folks who keep the power on don’t get enough credit — because no one thinks, “Wow, isn’t that great!” when they flip a switch and the room fills with light; we only notice when that isn’t what happens. Well, for at least a day or so, I will notice and be grateful for the light, not to mention the Wi-Fi.