There has been no power in this house for almost a week now. It's very quiet, I've noticed. And by 'quiet' I don't mean "lack of noise." Oh sure, the refrigerator doesn't kick on, both the water pump and the furnace are silent, and the television and stereo just collect dust. But there is some noise: the generator running out in the dooryard makes a constant buzz (which modulates every time the sump pump in the basement kicks on — about once every 30 seconds), and the fan that throws heat out of the gas-fired "woodstove" is ever-present as well. But how could a person complain about that?
No, the quiet I'm thinking of is of the mental variety. There are less distractions. The phone doesn't ring. The Internet doesn't beckon. There's actually time to read. To reflect. While there are some new responsibilities (hauling five-gallon water jugs for toilet-flushing, making sure the generator doesn't run out of fuel, boiling water for tea), there seems to be this feeling that everything has slowed down.
All of this has had an interesting effect on my thought processes. Focus seems to come much easier. When I start looking at a project, other projects don't vie for my attention. With the mental background noise diminished, it doesn't seem out of the question that I might actually get something done, rather than scramble, churn, and fall into a state of hand-wringing tension.
So what's it all mean? Should I permanently unplug the Internet cable? Go off the grid? Purchase a yurt in Montana and live off the land?
Right. I could no sooner live without the Internet than go without food. The grid might cause problems, but it's really up to me to deal with 'em (and as much Ed Begley Jr. cracks me up, I am not pedaling a bicycle to generate power to run my toaster). And while a yurt is intriguing, I'm thinking that an apartment in a small city is in our future.
The distractions? Well, those have to be dealt with. I've always admired people who were able to compartmentalize the various aspects of their existence. It's never worked for me, but I sure can see the benefits.
The utility company is now saying that their hope is to have everybody back online before Christmas. I don't really need another week of sponge baths and hallway navigation by flashlight, but who knows? Maybe there are even more benefits not yet considered.
Article comments
1 - Pico
Since you're already most of the way there, now is a good time to go Amish ;-)
2 - Mat Brewster
Sponge baths? I knew there was a reason Josh was so desperate to get up there and help.
3 - Mark Saleski
you're evil brewster.
4 - Glen Boyd
We're all snowed in up in Seattle too Mark, but at least the power is still on. So far, anyway. They're predicting hurricane force winds in addition to the snow for tonight, and in Seattle that means power outages.
No Internet? Holy crap man, my life could well be over....
-Glen
5 - Mary K. Williams
We were lucky here, only 36 hours w/o all electricity - and this from the same storm. Sir Mark's area got it much worse. But I did actually enjoy the slowing down part. Once I accepted the fact that our basement flood was survivable and all that, there was some quality time in there.
Once all our power was back, I felt like such a ... consumer.