I Went 24 Hours Without Power & I'm Thankful For It
You would have thought I had lost all access to a human civilization based on my initial reaction to it going out.
To be fair, I work two remote jobs that obviously require an internet connection, and I had deliverables and a Friday meeting that had to be canceled, therefore pushing back the project due to my personal error.
So for that part, I'm not thankful.
But I will also say that we had unique things going on at work this week, and there's no reason that there should have been a 5 pm meeting scheduled on a Friday anyways.
The other contractor, whose schedule I'm working around, had all week to schedule something with me to knock the final details of this out.
So the fact that my power went out on a Friday afternoon which made me miss a meeting that shouldn't have been scheduled at that time in the first place doesn't make me feel all that bad.
Now onto the good part and the part that I'm thankful for.
As someone who spends an average of 10–12 hours on the computer each day, when you're suddenly disconnected from it, especially in the midst of a semi-important project for a role you want to perform well in… well, it's not the greatest feeling.
But after having the thoughts that I shared above about the situation (and the other freelancer I'm working with) and after having no screen time for 4–6 hours and having little to do around the house but sit there and embrace the silence… I'm actually happy the whole thing happened.
You see, I paid the balance of my power bill a few hours after it was shut off.
It was 4 pm on Friday when I paid the balance of my electric bill.
I called the power company an hour later when nothing had turned back on, and the lady on the other end of the phone stated that for payments made after 3 pm, the power wouldn't be connected until the following business day.
Which would be Monday.
I almost lost my marbles with the lady on the phone.
Marquita, I think her name was.
"Are you serious?"— I asked as if I was going to be partaking in the final Hunger Games or something like that.
After expressing some frustration and a few profanities (sorry, Marquita), I eventually hung up the phone.
8:17 pm.
The sun is officially down.
I light the one candle I have and scramble to locate one of the miniature flashlights I know I have because my daughter always plays with it before bed. I find it and turn it on.
Now we can see.
Luckily, my phone has plenty of battery to get me through the next few hours.
"Thank god for smartphones," I thought to my screen-addicted self.
I proceed to browse Instagram and post random shit on my story, talking about my purpose in life to motivate people.
The darkness around me, combined with the humbling experience of having no power for some reason, made it easier than normal to be myself on social media that evening.
Here it is, Saturday afternoon, about 26 hours after the initial disconnection, and my power has been restored.
I was preparing to enjoy a full Saturday outside with no power whatsoever. After surviving the previous night, I was confident in getting through the day because it was beautiful out, and I would not be spending any time inside, anyways.
I was walking out the door to go do yard work at my parent's when my neighbor above me called down and said, "Hey, there's a Georgia Power guy on the side of the building!"
No way. Could it be?
After walking around to the side of my condominium building, I see the power man there, poking and knocking around with my power meter.
"Ohhh, it must be you then, huh?" he asks.
"Yes, sir! And right now, you are my Lord and savior!" I replied sarcastically — but in a way that showed my genuine appreciation.
The power was back on a few moments later. I stood there for 2–3 minutes, thanking him profusely.
He probably thought I was a millennial nut case that desperately needed Wifi so that he could get back on Tik Tok or something like that.
Regardless, I could finally stop whining like the full-grown baby I had been acting like.
And then, after a few moments standing inside and listening to the refrigerator and A/C buzz back to life — I realized my quiet time was over.
For a brief moment, I was disappointed the power had been restored so quickly. Being disconnected for a little while was exactly what my brain needed. And I'm not sure I would have given myself that break without my electric company twisting my arm and turning my shit completely off.
Which is pretty sad if you think about it.
When you don't have social media or blue lights shining in your eyes every hour, you have to come up with other ways to preoccupy your mind and brain space. Not having electricity for a brief while forced my creativity into high gear, too.
Luckily it was a beautiful day on Friday, and I still spent a good chunk of it soaking up some fresh rays while doing yard work
So none of it was that bad, with the exception of me missing some work on Friday. If you are from my agency and you're reading this, sorry about that.
Anyways, I just wanted to share part of my weekend with you all.
If you have trouble disconnecting from it all some days: all you must do is neglect to pay your power bill, and that problem will eventually be solved for you automatically.
Haha! Obviously kidding. But not really.
Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to you soon.
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P.S. Have a wonderful day, and don't forget to subscribe if you would like to get a notification to your email each time I post.
Cheers!
