Normalcy has gone out the window this week. You know how if you live in a developed nation, you can usually sleep in a bed and have indoor plumbing if you are above the poverty line? For over 24 hours, I lost that privilege. Let me explain.
On Monday morning, I drove to my biology class just like I do on other Monday through Thursdays. Even though the sun was out and it very hot and humid, there was talk on the radio about a storm coming in. The traffic and weather people said that there were going to be strong winds, and we should take an umbrella if we were planning on going outside.
I brought an umbrella into class with me, and then I stopped thinking about the pending storm all together. Halfway through my lecture, I get a text message from my mom telling me that the power was out in our house. We lost power three weeks ago, and it was not fun. I actually had a lot of trouble concentrating for the rest of class, because my mind was spinning around about what I would do if we didn't get our power before dark. I had a difficult bio test the next day, and I really needed to study hard.
As soon as I got back on the road, I saw that the streets were littered with debris. I had to take a detour to get to the highway, because there were fallen trees blocking the road. I had a chemistry midterm next, so I decided to go straight to my other school instead of going home because of the chaos. There were also a lot of dead stoplights. Yikes.
I arrived to an empty parking lot at my other school about 45 minutes later. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was good news for me. When I drove to the front of the building, there was a sign on the door telling us that our classes were cancelled due to a power outage. WooHOOOOO!!! I threw my fists up into the air in an act of joy, and then I drove home.
With the exception of going to Panera to study for an hour and a half, I spent the rest of the day and night in my house with no air conditioning in 90-degree (30 plus Celsius) weather with humidity. Since we have well water, we could not use our toilets (only 1-2 flushes per toilet) or water. I studied by candles and flashlight, and my room was so hot that I had to sleep in my basement. I made a bed out of two dog beds, a few blankets and a pillow. I usually would be terrified of my basement in the pitch black , but I had Rigley to protect me from the basement monsters.
Somehow, I slept soundly until I had to get up to go to class (which was before 6 am, since I had no idea how many stoplights were still out). I checked my email and found that my chemistry class was cancelled again. After doing another victory dance, I ran upstairs to my sweaty room and packed an overnight bag. Since my biology class was in the city, it made sense for me to stay at my brother Jon's apartment. He was thrilled, because that meant I could take care of Libby while he was at work!
I took my biology exam (one point shy of getting an A....really hoping for a curve!), drove to Jon's apartment, took Libby outside for a pee and then I walked to Andi's office in the magnificent weather to meet her for lunch. We spent about 40 minutes at Chipotle eating our burrito bowls and catching up. I then walked back to Jon's, slept on the couch for an hour, went to the gym in his building (weights only) and then spent the rest of the afternoon with Libby!
Jon's apartment building has dog walkers, and they fill out a "doggy diary" for Libby every day. The "diary" is like a dry-erase board, so the dog walkers can write a new report every day. As you see, the dog walker writes what time of the day they took her out, what the weather was like, people or dogs they interacted with, whether they pooped or peed, etc. Cute, right? Jon cancelled the dog walking appointment today since I was around.
On Monday morning, I drove to my biology class just like I do on other Monday through Thursdays. Even though the sun was out and it very hot and humid, there was talk on the radio about a storm coming in. The traffic and weather people said that there were going to be strong winds, and we should take an umbrella if we were planning on going outside.
I brought an umbrella into class with me, and then I stopped thinking about the pending storm all together. Halfway through my lecture, I get a text message from my mom telling me that the power was out in our house. We lost power three weeks ago, and it was not fun. I actually had a lot of trouble concentrating for the rest of class, because my mind was spinning around about what I would do if we didn't get our power before dark. I had a difficult bio test the next day, and I really needed to study hard.
As soon as I got back on the road, I saw that the streets were littered with debris. I had to take a detour to get to the highway, because there were fallen trees blocking the road. I had a chemistry midterm next, so I decided to go straight to my other school instead of going home because of the chaos. There were also a lot of dead stoplights. Yikes.
I arrived to an empty parking lot at my other school about 45 minutes later. I had a sneaking suspicion that this was good news for me. When I drove to the front of the building, there was a sign on the door telling us that our classes were cancelled due to a power outage. WooHOOOOO!!! I threw my fists up into the air in an act of joy, and then I drove home.
With the exception of going to Panera to study for an hour and a half, I spent the rest of the day and night in my house with no air conditioning in 90-degree (30 plus Celsius) weather with humidity. Since we have well water, we could not use our toilets (only 1-2 flushes per toilet) or water. I studied by candles and flashlight, and my room was so hot that I had to sleep in my basement. I made a bed out of two dog beds, a few blankets and a pillow. I usually would be terrified of my basement in the pitch black , but I had Rigley to protect me from the basement monsters.
Somehow, I slept soundly until I had to get up to go to class (which was before 6 am, since I had no idea how many stoplights were still out). I checked my email and found that my chemistry class was cancelled again. After doing another victory dance, I ran upstairs to my sweaty room and packed an overnight bag. Since my biology class was in the city, it made sense for me to stay at my brother Jon's apartment. He was thrilled, because that meant I could take care of Libby while he was at work!
I took my biology exam (one point shy of getting an A....really hoping for a curve!), drove to Jon's apartment, took Libby outside for a pee and then I walked to Andi's office in the magnificent weather to meet her for lunch. We spent about 40 minutes at Chipotle eating our burrito bowls and catching up. I then walked back to Jon's, slept on the couch for an hour, went to the gym in his building (weights only) and then spent the rest of the afternoon with Libby!
Jon's apartment building has dog walkers, and they fill out a "doggy diary" for Libby every day. The "diary" is like a dry-erase board, so the dog walkers can write a new report every day. As you see, the dog walker writes what time of the day they took her out, what the weather was like, people or dogs they interacted with, whether they pooped or peed, etc. Cute, right? Jon cancelled the dog walking appointment today since I was around.
Libby was so happy on her doggy bed.
I took Libby on a walk around the area.
Hellooooo tallest building in America!
Libby led me to the dog park across the street from the apartment. She loves it there.
She made a good friend. There was only one other dog there at the time, but the park was overrun with dogs by the time I left.
She was exhausted after about an hour. I also made a few human friends. It was a good time at the dog park.
I learned that the power is back in our house, and it looks like I have to go back to chemistry tomorrow. For some reason, I have to go to a different classroom. I guess there is no power in science wing, but there is in other parts. I'd like to have more days off, but I know that I'd pay for it later with all of the extra homework.
I now wonder if I remember anything for the midterm I have to take tomorrow. I really don't feel like studying.....
I think I'm just going to hang out with Jon and Libby.
Goodnight, friends!
I think I'm just going to hang out with Jon and Libby.
Goodnight, friends!
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