Wednesday, August 31, 2011

In The Dark: Day 5 - Impatient But Learning To Accept Things I Cannot Change

So, today begins Day 5 without power for me and 190,498 other households in the Metro Richmond area...I'm pretty sure this is the longest span of time I've ever experienced a power outage in my life (correct me if I'm incorrect here Mom). Hurricane Fran, which hit back in 1996 when I was 7 years old, is the worst storm that I can remember ever hitting the Valley in my lifetime, and I don't think we lost power for this long even then. 


Then, to top it all off, this morning as I was driving to work, a popular morning talk show host on one of the Top 40 stations that I sometimes listen to had the nerve to complain about his cable not working! Seriously?!?! Your CABLE?!?! Go cry me a freakin' river! Get over it and watch a dvd, buddy! There are over 190,000 people here who would very much enjoy having the luxury of watching a movie in the comforts of their own home...or simply being able to flip on a functioning light switch instead of using candles and flashlights for that matter. Geez! Some people! :P


Oops, there I go complaining again...I'm going to blame it on the fact that I haven't had my morning cup of coffee yet (but I'll be getting that very shortly. :)  As I said in my last post, I realize that I should be thankful that I didn't suffer any losses or damage besides the power outage, since many didn't fare quite so well. That being said, it's just annoying when I look out my window and every building in view has power, except for my block. *Sigh*  Maybe this is just another experience that God is using to try to teach me to have some patience...as I've fully admitted many times before, patience is not, nor has it ever been, one of my strong points. Now I'm doubly impatient for my foot to heal so that I can start running again, and for the power to be restored...maybe somewhere along the way it will finally sink in and I will learn to accept these things that I have no control over.


In the middle of posting this just a moment ago, the light at the end of the tunnel got a little bit brighter when I called Dominion's automated service line for an update and found that my power is expected to be restored on Thursday evening between 5-11 p.m.! Thursday night still seems a long way off, but that's slightly better than the Friday evening time frame they had predicted yesterday. Yay for progress! And even though I don't think any Dominion employees read my blog, I would still like to send out a huge THANK YOU to all of the DVP workers who have been tirelessly working crazy hours in order to get everyone's power restored ASAP. You guys and gals rock! (And hopefully that will counter my complaining from earlier).

It has been interesting coming into work the past few mornings and finding out whose power was restored the night before. Then, the rest of us proceed to grumble about how lucky they are and how jealous we are of them. On the upside, I haven't had to take any more super cold (and therefore quick) showers since Monday morning! Despite the fact that I haven't been able to use my gym membership for the past month and a half thanks to my fractured foot, it has definitely come in handy the past two mornings for getting a hot shower and being able to blow dry my hair! The little things in life get me excited sometimes! :)


Another positive thing that has come out of this whole powerless experience is realizing how wonderful my friends are (not that I didn't already know how wonderful they are, this just helped put that into an even clearer perspective)!  Whether offering their home to me for a hot shower, some AC, and WiFi, 
calling/texting to check in on me, going out to eat and sharing a hot meal together, or even being willing to take me in until my power comes back on, many of my friends have really come through and exemplified the true definition of friendship. To all of you who might be reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I love you guys!!!! :)


Below is a continuation of my power outage experience via Facebook status updates, picking up where I left off on Monday...


On a mission to find a barbeque lighter since mine ran out of fluid this morning and it looks like I'll be needing to light more candles tonite. Finding one should be an interesting adventure. Lol. Here goes nothin'
Monday at 5:43pm via BlackBerry
Just went shopping in the dark at Target...good times but no lighters...
Monday at 6:20pm via BlackBerry 
Sidenote: I ended up getting the very last lighter on the rack at CVS! :)

Excited for a delicious, hot dinner!!! Woo-hoo! :)
Juliana just checked in @ Strawberry Street Café (Richmond, VA) Monday at 6:59pm via Foursquare
Hot shower plus power to use my hair dryer = glorious! I knew I loved my gym, but this takes our relationship to new levels! Over the top yes, but the rest of you who still don't have power know exactly what I mean!
Yesterday at 7:37am via BlackBerry

Hilariously true article....especially on day 4 without power...hahaha.
www2.richmond.com
This is what life is like right now for the people without power in the sweet, dark RVA.
20 hours ago
Anyone wanna do something fun tonite? Movie, Sweet Frog, Sbux, anything? Call or text it! Shopping in the West End in the meantime...
14 hours ago via BlackBerry

Day 5 without power...fun times continue! Lol
52 minutes ago via BlackBerry

And now another workday begins....Some people dread waking up and going to work in the morning, but as for me over these past few days, I've woken up looking forward to hot coffee, electric lights, a functioning computer, and AC, among others of life's little luxuries that we so often take for granted. Hope you all have a wonderfully blessed Wednesday...and if you could find time to send up a short little prayer for those of us without power, and especially for those dealing with damaged property, it would be very much appreciated! Also, I go back to my orthopedic doctor tomorrow, and 3 weeks ago he said that we would discuss a timeline for gradually working back into a running plan...Based on the way my foot has been feeling since I got the cast off, I know there's still no way I can run on it just yet, but I would love to be able to get back out there and start jogging at least short distances soon, so I would also appreciate your prayers for quick healing and restored strength/mobility in my foot. Thanks a bunch in advance! :)

Take care, y'all! :)






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