yesterday was not one of my favorite days, ever.
it began much like most days here do, with sounds of teletubbies in the background, and savannah and destiny playing together. i sat down in front of the computer to peruse a little email and check out a website. and then, suddenly, --BAM!-- thunder, pause, then the electricity snapped off.
i had to go find the girls in the dark, as they had been in savannah's bathroom, discovering there were toys in there. it was raining heavily, and was awfully dark outside.
i used to have candles everywhere around the apartment. but since savannah's been pulling herself up and cruising along furniture, most of them have been put away, so things are safe for her. there is absolutely nothing on our coffee table right now. and the rest of the living room is fairly empty as well.
i lit a few of the candles and lamps that still reside in the living room and dining room, opened up the blinds, and then called georgia power to let them know our power was out. this was around 9:45am.
see, we've had this problem here consistently over the summer. there is a problem with the box o' electrical stuff between our building and the one next to us. and, during the month of may alone, the power was off at least 4-5 times.
although, when it happened yesterday morning, i didn't know it was just our two buildings. so, after i'd called, i didn't think it would be too long until they got it back on. i mean, this is atlanta, the city of atlanta, after all...
i poked my head out of our front door around 11am or so, and chatted with a few of my neighbors. there is an elderly woman who lives upstairs from me, who is very nice and calls me 'florence'. (i guess she must have misunderstood it when i told it to her, and then i wasn't sure that was what she was calling me. and then, it seemed much too late for me to correct her.) and, there is another woman who apparently just moved in next door, with the guy who seems to never really be there.
the woman next door was on a cell phone with georgia power, and was told someone would try to be out there in the next hour or so. okay, so we'd be without power until lunchtime or a little after. okay.
lunch came and went, no truck.
after lunch, i put both girls down for a nap and then decided to take one myself. it was a rainy dark day after all. and surely, by the time i get up to feed savannah dinner, it'll be back on.
i woke up at 4:30, as savannah was waking up. and still no power.
i fed savannah a cold dinner, as i had no way to heat anything up for her. destiny's mom came and picked her up at about 5:45pm. and still no power.
finally, somewhere around 6:35pm, watching out the window helplessly, i saw a big georgia power truck, except it was driving in the opposite direction from our building.
fuck!
i grabbed my keys, slipped on my birks, picked up savannah and went running out across the parking lot, in the rain, after the truck. good thing someone else had decided to chase it before me. i'm in no shape to catch up with it by myself, let alone trying to balance a nineteen pound little girl on my hip.
the guy came back. it took all of five fucking minutes for him to put on his insulated gloves, grab his big long pole and flip the goddamned switch down in the box o' electrical stuff to turn the shit back on.
nine fucking hours after it went out. nine. in the city of atlanta. excuse me, but what the fuck?!?
so, i spent very little time online yesterday. i didn't do much of anything yesterday... other than trying really hard not to be angry anymore. since more than anything, i hate being powerless...
Posted by lara at September 22, 2000 10:27 AM