Sep 19, 2022
3 Things I Learned From a Prolonged Power Outage
Work, entertainment, and caring are crucial
At the end of September of 2017, Hurricane Maria affected the Caribbean Islands. On September 20 of 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, destroying vegetation, infrastructure, and changing the lives of many Puerto Ricans. At that time, I was studying Engineering full-time and lived in Caguas, Puerto Rico with my mother's family and grandmother. The effects and aftermath changed many Puerto Ricans’ way of life, including us. My life did change in a positive way, and I spent most of my days reading. The prolonged power outage changed most of my technology interests and social expectations.
An Unreliable Internet Connection Helps You Focus and Discover New Insights
The Power Outage in my area of Caguas lasted approximately 3 months. I did not take note of the date the lights came back, but I do remember I was resting on an armchair, reading on my smartphone, laying back and looking into the stars sporadically, when I noticed the street light fire up gradually. I actually said out loud, “Llego la luz” (it's back) to my family, and then listened to the whole neighborhood roar in happiness. Of course, I already had the world at my hands, but using an electric fan again was also great.
In my experience, the lack of reliable Internet connection does help you focus on one thing at a time. By reading offline, and not using the web continuously, I learned even more about topics I liked, but I also developed an interest in personal research. I now understand how valuable it is to aspire to become an expert in a field because this helps you produce insights, and even extrapolate experiences to other life aspects.
Setup
During these 3 months, I actually read most of my e-book and book collection, reading physical books by day and e-books by night. I downloaded most of my Amazon Kindle purchases on multiple Android devices and turned off sync and Internet access. I had two reading devices and one Phone I used for communications. This phone was only powered when I needed to call, text or email, and as soon as I finished I actually turned it off. The reading devices were turned off when not in use, and they had power saving mode and low screen brightness turned on always. This setup allowed me to read at all times, day and night, by rotating phones and devices.
I also had a laptop and a Chromebook, which worked great even without the Internet. I did had problems sometimes with some apps, but Chromebooks in 2017 already featured offline PDF documents reading and offline video from USB storage. I passed all my classes, and managed to learn a lot, even while struggling with transportation.
This setup and workflow worked even while being unable to afford a power generator at the time, so I depended on friends to charge my devices. However, I see power generators differently now after 2017 passed. If I would buy one, I would not use it continuously or more than once a day, they generate lots of noise and in an urban area where almost everyone can afford one, it becomes a hellish resonance of engine noise. More so than any Heavy Metal or Industrial Music album I had heard.
I also now prefer offline multimedia storage, and apps like Syncthing that let you manage file synchronization yourself between devices. Cloud storage its convenient, but when internet is unreliable, you lose time and effort which could be saved when using local storage.
Urban Areas Help You Flourish And Thrive
Powering and charging devices was a problem, but I also discovered that small businesses helped customers charge their devices. If you asked nicely, they would let you charge phones on them, even way after you completed your business.
Bigger places like malls and ISPs buildings attracted more people, and they allowed clients to charge devices and access the internet on Wi-fi.
I personally prefer small businesses. We walked up to the store, bought supplies, charged our devices and went back home for the night.
Lockdowns Can Be a Learning Experience
Puerto Rico was also subjected to curfew at night after Maria. The government used these measures to help law enforcement manage lack of street lights and poor communications, and so, lower risks of crime and emergencies. I will finish this note by saying, as you might already know, lockdowns can be a learning experience.
I did notice that nights where indeed serene, with engine noise, yes, but without lights that occluded the stars. People did stay indoors, because they recognized the reach and effects of a strong Hurricane. And I know for sure, that people changed, and changed again for the better after Covid.
No hay mal que por bien no venga.
Even bad experiences can and will be overcome, when you are willing to cooperate with fellow human beings to improve both lives.
